Does anyone here actually like or "not mind" cleaning poop???

[MrsNursey2006]

I have just completed my first year as an RN, BSN a couple of weeks ago. Nothing much to celebrate after I find out that I worked that hard

only to be cleaning so much poop as a person with a 4 year degree.

I think the nursing profession is too modest and afraid to admit that someone else should be doing the dirty job. I love medicine....and I love being a nurse even when orders pile up, and next shift nags at you for every little thing undone during your shift because of time constrictions, like they come on their shift to just sit around and do nothing. I can take snobby, unexperienced, stubborn doctors; I can get along fine with middle-aged bitter, old nurses; I can handle grumpy patients, and suspicious families; I can handle snobby unlicensed assist. personnel; I can handle all that even when all that can be tiring.

But on top of all that, we RNs have to clean poop! I think that is why the nursing profession don't get so much credit, that's why nurses grow old bitter and eat the next generation of nurses, it's because they are overworked, underpaid, and cleaning poop really lowers their morale. You get out of school thinking wow i'm a professional....I worked so hard...then you go and clean poooppp....!!! Nasty, foul smelling poop.

For that reason.....only for that reason I am quitting being a hospital staff nurses at the Veteran's Hospital. I am going to continue being an RN, but not one who cleans poop. I hate that poopy part of our profession, so shoot me. :welcome:

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

What a heartfelt post, traumaRUs.

Thank you for placing it all into perspective........

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Be it literally or figuritively, poop is a part of the job.

[KckStrt]

Poops stinks no doubt about it...

but tramasrus hit in on the head... I think I will not have such a bad day after all!

[AprilRNhere]

I don't enjoy it..but most days I could care less one way or the other.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Oh, dear. I truly hope we have not been so harsh as to scare the original poster from ever contributing to this particular thread again.

[kimcdo]

well at least in a hospital setting, you can clean and dispose of the "poop" and be done with it-(most of the time)-but when you have pt who are vomiting or bleeding, you not only have to clean it, but then have to go back and treat the problem. but to me the worst is MUCOUS! i gag!!!

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

I have a little different perspective on cleaning poop. I don't like it but don't really mind it-cleaning up a patient isn't really that much more unpleasant than wiping my own butt. Plus, as other posters have pointed out, if you have a kid it's pretty routine for you.

However, what I really do resent is that I have found the public in general looks down on us for the mere fact that this is a routine part of our job. In other words, our job is devalued in the perception of most non-nurses BECAUSE it involves cleaning poop, etc. Now that really burns me!

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Have to agree with a lot of the posters. I also think dignity comes into play and also how would I feel if it was me in that bed and having to rely on someone else to do the job. I would hope that the person would respect that it was not something done intentionally ( I know some do but generally they don't) and give me the dignity of keeping me clean. Also a good way to check skin integrity

[nightmare, RN]

As I say to my carers "poop pays your wages" and I definately prefer it to sputum >>

[deeDawntee, RN]

What about all the polls that put nurses at our near the top of the most trusted professions?

There are so many posters that refer to the 'disrespect of nursing from the public'...I don't see it, who do we think our patients are? They ARE the public. And as a nurse, it is MY job to connect with my patient in a way that they do trust me, that they don't feel so much shame and humiliation if they have whatever bodily fluid all over the bed. It is that connection of respect and dignity that goes both ways. I ALWAYS tell my patients that it is OK if they couldn't contain whatever bodily fluid. It IS part of my job to clean them up, but also to ease what ever embarrassment they may feel. To go in there and be disgusted with what you are doing and to show it to the patient is about the most unprofessional behaviors I can think of. How is that going to facilitate healing?

[Sabby_NC]

I always thought nurses offered holistic care.

Wiping away BM is part of your job.

I would never consider myself above doing ANYTHING for my patients to assess them and make them as comfortable as possible.

[kanzi monkey]

warning--i'm lettin it all out in this post. i recommend you put down your snacks, and perhaps read this later if you just ate...

poop. ahhh. it tells us a lot about a pt's condition--if they are pooping, if they're not pooping, if it's brown, orange, [color=dimgray]gray, brick, firm, [color=olive]chunky[color=olive], pebbly, l o o s e--seriously. what if it's green and watery? what if it's marbled with brb? cleaning poop gives us direct insight into what's going on inside our patients.

we have to capture the evidence when we need to (sending samples, guiac testing, etc), and then ensure that our patient is completely clean and dry--cause we all know s&*@ is toxic, eh? it's like battery acid on the skin (ok, i can't verify that, but you get my drift) and then there's the dreaded cdiff variety. the merde du jour. the house guest that has over-stayed his welcome.

anyway, cleaning poo is also an opportunity to look directly at the sacrum, and between the cheeks--and how often do you see a little redness that concerns you? a crease? abrasion? an open area? (!)

for all those that have had their hands buried in the vast pit of the stage iv decub, you are probably viscerally aware of the importance of cleaning up the pooey.

as far as being "nurse's work" or "aide's" work--that's just ignorance. it's not acceptable, and i don't like it when my friends first assume that i wipe butt for a living. of course, if i explained it to them in the terms that i have addressed above in this post, they would probably take a break from our friendship for awhile. that's the breaks.

no one working in patient care is beneath cleaning poop. sometimes it's hard to find time, however among all the other important things going on.

the pca's where i work have more time to do this because their job focuses on patient hygiene. but most don't just wipe and walk--first off, they usually need some assistance because we have very heavy and immobile patient's on our floor. as we turn, clean, change the linens, oftentimes the pca, having a different view of the pt's skin, will see something i can't see--most of them are just as good at recognizing risks of skin breakdown as any of our nurses. and they do a darn thorough job cleaning their patients. and reporting their findings to the nurses in a timely manner so the nurse knows a skin assessment is priority. "aide's work" is just as tired a phrase as "nurses' work"--i understand that there is hierarchy problem in the hospital, but we only reinforce it by using a term that devalues our assistants--they have a scope of practice too, and the work they do is essential in the collaborative, multidisciplinary effort of patient care.

anyway, go get your snack.

cheers!