Fears...

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i have finally made the decision to go back to school tobecome a rn!! i am super excited butalso have some fears. i can be a bit squeamish sometimes... i can handle blood, but not dissectinga cadaver during class or something like a bone sticking out of leg bleeding. i am also not a fan of getting blood drawn or ivs started on myself. i know a nurse who says she can do it on others, but still hates have it done to her. i have had a few people that know me bring this up and it is making my fears worse!! so with that, i have a few questions:

1. can you be someone who hates being poked and learn to take blood, start ivs or give shots?

2. can you get used to the gory stuff?

3. if the answer to 2 is a no... can you make itthrough and be successful in school without too much gory stuff?

4. does anyone else feel this way and still becomea rn or am i crazy to do this?

thank you in advance for the advice and input!! j

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Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

Yes, you can get used to most anything. There is no way to tell if you can until you try to do it. How much do you want to be a nurse? If you are committed, give it a shot, I've seen 'squeamish' people get used to their fearful situations quite well.

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Thank you for your advice! I really, really want to be a nurse for so many reasons! I truly want to believe that I will get used to my fearful situations but would be so disappointed if I didn’t. I guess it is like you said... “There is no way to tell if you can until you try to do it.” I have registered for a CNA program that starts in August. I have been told (and hope) that this program will help me sort out whether I can get over some of my ‘squeamish’ issues. Also, I know this may sound weird, but I also have taken to watching videos on YouTube of blood being drawn and other thing to help me get used to seeing it. Let me know if you have any other tips that may help me.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

[color=#990033]welcome! :)

yes, most people are able to get over their squeamishness issues and yes, being a cna will acquaint you with things pre-nursing students are typically afraid they won't be able to handle. probably not so much major traumatic injuries, though, depending on where you will be working. best wishes!

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The great thing about nursing is that it is very diverse. You could work in acute or long-term care facilities. Acute you're more likely to see the traumatic injuries where at long-term care it can be more like rehab or geriatrics. You could even be an administrative nurse, a teacher, or even a school nurse. Nursing isn't strictly working in the ER and having a bunch of traumatic injuries and situations. A lot of people go into nursing scared that they may not be able to do it, but there is no way to know for sure until you try it (a few times.) Chances are, you will get used to it and you will be fine; mind over matter.

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nursel56 - I was guessing I wouldn't be seeing the super gory stuff as a CNA, but will in nursing school. In your opinion would tying to find videos or photos of more traumatic injuries and exposing myself to them help? When I look at that stuff right now I get these huge knots in my stomach, feel sick and tend to divert my eyes. I wonder if trying to view them as much as possible would help desensitize me?

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lovemydogs91 - I love what you said: "Mind over matter!" As of now, my plan after nursing school would definitely not include the ER or anything similar. (I know I could change my mind during school, but as of now that's how I feel.) I just get frightened that during school I would not pass a check off or something because of the 'squeamish' issues. I am sort of an over-thinking, over-preparing, checklist, have to be sure kind of gal and the uncertainty kind of scares me.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
nursel56 - I was guessing I wouldn't be seeing the super gory stuff as a CNA, but will in nursing school. In your opinion would tying to find videos or photos of more traumatic injuries and exposing myself to them help? When I look at that stuff right now I get these huge knots in my stomach, feel sick and tend to divert my eyes. I wonder if trying to view them as much as possible would help desensitize me?

It's hard to answer that question because everyone is so different in that regard. My personal experience is that I don't react to pictures or videos so much but when you see something in real life, you react more with all of your senses.

The best advice I can give you is that nursing school itself brings you into gradual contact with things like that, and as there will be others in your clinical group who have the same or similar fears, venting and sharing those concerns helps immensely. It's a "trust the process" kind of thing. It's extremely common for people just starting out to fear this. Some people are afraid of how they will react to needles or vomit.

Hopefully people who've dealt with it more recently than I have :) will share also. If not, I would suggest starting a thread in the General Nursing Student forum and title it "fear of how I will react to sight of blood" or something that mentions your specific concern.

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I think that a lot of your fear is coming from not knowing. For example, if you saw someone who's bone was sticking out of their leg, and they were bleeding all over the place, yeah you'd be frightened. However, once you learn the physiology of it and think of it mechanically and not so much with emotions, you will find it easier. Do you get scared when you go through a haunted house for the first time? How about after you've gone through 20 or 30 times, when you know what is going on and where things are and what will happen? Once you know how things work, why they do what they do, and actually experience it, I think that fear will dissipate.

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My personal experience...

Two and a half years ago, I was finishing my prereqs and preparing to apply to nursing school. I wanted a job in the hospital to make sure nursing was really what I wanted to do. I, too, was really nervous about how I would react to gross things. I wasn't a CNA or anything, so my job choices were limited. Lo and behold, I was hired as a transporter in the ER. I was so scared of seeing things I couldn't handle. I planned to work there for six months, then transfer to another area.

Guess what I learned?

I LOVE GROSS THINGS.

I love traumas. I love drawing blood. I love people with their insides exposed.

And I start there as a new grad RN in a little over a month. :) So give it a shot - you may surprise yourself.

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