For anyone who is already a nurse or working at a hospital

shock-me-sane · Jul 26, 2007

I am not a nurse yet, but am doing an internship right now.

I try to make myself pee when I have the chance and not hold it (which is so easy to do for awhile when you are running around). I have almost passed out twice. In both situations, I excused myself from the room and sat down and had some water. If at all possible, finish what you are doing but if not, you have to make sure you don't wet yourself or whatever. Politely excuse yourself, most things can wait a few minutes.

allthingsbright · Jul 26, 2007

i have a question for anyone who is already a nurse or already working in a hospital.what happens if your with a patient or in the middle of something and you really need to use a bathroom or you become sick? how do you handle it how do you excuse yourself? the reason why i asked is that i have a really weird stomach i think its a case of ibs.and i have a really small bladder. so when i need to go i really need to go sorry for tmi. i was just wondering how everyone handles it?

i graduate in a couple months--i have noticed that when you are in that kind of situation you can usually get to a stopping point and excuse yourself or you may not have as many instances where you need to run to the bathroom. we all laugh at how we can suddenly work 8 to 12 hours without a potty break, food, or sitting down. you also need to watch your diet if you have ibs and make sure you dont eat anything that would trigger an attack while you are working. if you can't pull yourself away, you could always get a tech or another nurse to come cover for you while you run to the bathroom. i have noticed that nurses usually like to help each other--especially when the favor is returned! as far as getting nauseous/sick, i put a ttiny bit of vicks under my nose or chew some strong peppermint gum if i know things are gonna get ugly. havent gagged yet! :)

bruinlaura · Jul 26, 2007

I just worked a night with a terrible case of nausea. At one point I just told my patient "pardon me I'll be right back" and ran to the restroom. Fortunately I was ok and somebody had some pepto for me to take that took care of the nausea for the rest of the night. I suggest keeping a stash of whatever meds that work for you in your bag or locker.

Unless you are in the middle of a sterile procedure or a code situation it won't be a big deal. The patient will understand. They'd rather you not hurl in front of them. :)

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jul 26, 2007

I work in an ICU and there are breaks (on most nights) to eat and go to the bathroom. We were busy with a patient last night (near drowning) and she was coding off and on all night and I still had time to run and eat and go pee. My floor is awesome and we all really help each other out A LOT!

Don't worry about it. I hear nurses here saying they never get a chance to eat or pee....I haven't found that to be true, but then again like I said I work on a really awesome floor and that makes all the difference in the world.

faithful11 · Jul 27, 2007

I work in mental health nursing, and used to be a CNA years ago as well...I agree with what everyone has already said. Just politely excuse yourself, no need to say what is going on or where you are going--that would be tmi. As another poster said, try to handle things before you begin. In your particular case of having a small bladder, and possibly IBS, I would personally suggest that you wear some protection inside your under graments. In the event that you CAN'T stop the procedure right away, and must finish, if you leak a little, you won't be embarrased by a wet spot or any stain.

I think it is also good that you are planning ahead.

jess123 · Aug 1, 2007

i currently work at the hospital as an unqualified nurse and have a few friends who are quite squeemish when it comes to certain things (although this isn't your case) when they need to excuse themselves they try and do it in a proffesional way! sometimes they have made out that they have forgot something and need to rush off and get it! this works well if the toilet is nearby!!! i shouldn't worry too much, its obviously something you cant help. have you thought about telling the patient that your'e unwell or something, then that way they are prepared for you leaving?

hope this helps?