Don't wanna always give baths, clean up feces, etc., where to work?

[WannaBCRNA]

In clinicals we just give baths, clean up poop and puke, and feed patients. I honestly want nothing to do with this once I'm a nurse, so, where/what floors can I work on as a new grad, in order to avoid this? I do have an interest in Psych nursing.

[RN1989]

But hey, doctors deal with that stuff too so don't feel too bad.

WHERE have you been where a doctor deals with bodily functions and fluids? I have yet to see a doctor do anthing except step back and call for a nurse when anything needs fixing or cleaning up.

Perhaps we should get together and make a video about the realities of nursing. We might then weed out the people that have such unrealistic expectations of nursing. Especially the ones that want to make a quick, easy buck without having to work for it. Thus, when there are not enough nurses - we might force the hands of the government and our employers to fix the issues and those of who left nursing because of the crap but who are willing to do all the dirty little jobs can re-enter the arena.

You know, I bet the TV censors would never let us show what nursing is really like. Too graphic.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

lol this is funny!!!....

seriously... you've got to learn to love your inner poo. celebrate the poo. embrace the poo.

it's all about the poo.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

you know my opinion is from these 4 things you don't like doing. i can get my best assessment data from. sure, no body likes doing these things but just imagine how the patient feels. living all your life caring for yourself being independent, then having to have someone do these things for you...and by someone that don't want to do them.

in clinicals we just give baths, clean up poop and puke, and feed patients. i honestly want nothing to do with this once i'm a nurse, so, where/what floors can i work on as a new grad, in order to avoid this? i do have an interest in psych nursing.

[Ms Kylee]

Personally, I love to bathe my patients. It gives me a break from the floor and the crabby nurse that I always seem lucky enough to draw for the shift. As for the poop... it's not my favorite thing.. would rather clean up vomit (done that too) but I cannot in good conscience leave them laying in their own waste. That's cruel and inhuman, and that is not wny I'm going to nursing school.

Pet peeve: Nurses who won't help clean a patient up after they've had an accident because they're "above" that now that they've gotten their RN. :angryfire

Anyway... if you want to be a Psych nurse, you'll need a BSN RN. That's one reason why I'm not going that route.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

You don't need a BSN to be a psych nurse- but psych pts have bodily functions, too.

[Ms Kylee]

You don't need a BSN to be a psych nurse- but psych pts have bodily functions, too.

You do where I live....

[Dolce, RN]

There is no way around "cleaning up poop." You poop, I poop, patients poop. It is a natural process. We as nurses have to be involved in cleaning up patients because we need to have a complete assessment of their skin. Patients who are incontinent of stool or urine are at risk for skin breakdown and nurses/CNAs are the first ones to notice this. How will you chart your skin assessment on the patient if you never personally witnessed their skin condition?

[sistasoul]

you know my opinion is from these 4 things you don't like doing. i can get my best assessment data from. sure, no body likes doing these things but just imagine how the patient feels. living all your life caring for yourself being independent, then having to have someone do these things for you...and by someone that don't want to do them.

i totally agree with you on this post. the poor patient. it is humiliating for them. i know it would be for me.

to the original poster: if you look at the cleaning of the feces and vomit from the patient's point of view it may help you.

[np_wannabe]

I can't help but wonder if experience and exposure play a big role in one's comfort in cleaning poop, urine, and vomit.

I have to assume that the first few times one does this--either as a CNA, LPN, RN, or even mother, it's not something you look forward to or eagerly await your next chance to do it.

Maybe for some it takes just a few cleanings, maybe for others it takes a few months...

We've all been taught from an early age that poop and pee are "gross," and maybe it just takes a while to overcome this (I know I told my littles as they were getting potty trained, "Don't touch the poop!!!." I don't know that you can really fault someone from being grossed out by it initially

HOWEVER, if you have been a nurse for years and you still can't deal....I don't know about that.

[kendel]

if i was sick and could not help myself, i would want some one to clean me up and so i dont have a problem cleaning up another person who cant do it because they are too sick

nursing is a field for the compassionate and humble

if you dont have those then you are i the wrong field and you may be miserable

[Ms Kylee]

I had a patient that had an accident and had a large amount of poop. She wouldn't ring her call bell to let anyone know because she was so embarrassed. I found this out when I was doing my last check on my patients before end of shift. That's when she told me. I took her hand and told her I'd be back to clean her up and that I was only going to be away for a short time to get the washcloths and towels. Came back with enough washcloths to clean an Army and a fleet of Marines, a bed and gown change, and two extra blankets (just in case she was cold). Took me 45 minutes to get her cleaned up and changed because of the large amount. While I was cleaning her up, she apologized about every 5 minutes for the work I had to do. I told her that it was not a problem (even though I still don't like poop, never have, probably never will), and then I told her that she couldn't help this, it happened because she was sick, and that I understood that this was not normal for her. That seemed to make her feel better about what happened. End result: cleaner and happier patient, clean bed, and a nursing assistant that does some things she doesn't like to do because it's part of her job and it still comes down to giving great patient care.

[tencat]

Seriously... you've got to learn to love your inner poo. Celebrate the poo. Embrace the poo.

It's all about the poo.

BWAHAHA! Teach me more, oh master!

Snorted oatmeal up my nose at this one.