Maybe nursing's NOT for me? :( Suggestions/Advice?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in neurology.

I'm so confused and lost....

I graduate this May with my BSN. I was an EMT for 4 years before I started nursing school, and I enjoyed that... I thought I would want to be an ER nurse.

After going through all my nursing rotations, I realized that I get grossed out really easily. Like, if I have to bathe a patient, change a diaper, give an enema, suction a trach, or give a tube feeding I get physically sick to my stomach...

So med/surg was a miserable time for me... and I think ER nursing would end up being the same way for me...

I thought I would like psych nursing instead, so I worked as a mental health worker at a psych hospital, but after getting violently attacked on the job by a patient who escalated out of nowhere I felt so unsafe I had to quit.

I did a Labor and Delivery preceptorship...but I still got queasy (though I love babies).

Now what? I'm starting to think I just wasted 5 years of my life on a career that I can't do...

Has ANYONE dealt with this and gotten over it and been happy in their career? Any advice on types of nursing I might be okay with?

I'm so upset and worried :crying2:

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First of all...a hug to you. I'm sorry that you're having a rough time...Although I'm not a nurse yet, I understand very well what its like to feel uncertain about career direction. From what I understand from reading through many of the posts from new nurses on this forum, it can take some time to settle into a nursing area that works for you. Have you thought about public health nursing or school nursing? What about neonatal nursing? You love babies, although there would still be diapering involved. Try looking through the nursing specialty discussions on this forum, there are many options in the nursing field...

I truly wish you the very best

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During the four years that you were an EMT, did you not see things that made you sick to your stomach? That might have given you a clue.

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Specializes in neurology.

No, I was never really grossed out as an EMT b/c fresh blood and wounds don't bother me so much as bathroom stuff and phlegm and old wounds...

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Hmm maybe OR nursing might be for you, or a postpartum. Most moms on post partum can toliet themselves. The fresh c-section patients are up by the next morning after surgery. There are so many avenues open to you in Nursing. It took me a long time and many job changes to find out what I was good at and I LOVE being a hospice nurse!

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So, basically it's the nasty physical aspects of nursing care that you have an aversion for.

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Specializes in ER.

Hey....don't feel bad. You should be so happy that you are almost done! Congratulations on working hard and getting your degree. That's a lot of work accomplished right there!

Next, one of the key reasons that I was so attracted to nursing was the infinite fields of work and possibilities for variation in employment that nursing offered. I like new challenges, so I knew that nursing would allow me to move around and change according to where my interests and life took me.

I don't mind the ick factor too much....well, apart from trachs...but I understand where you're coming from. I work in an ER, and we get our fair share of dirty, nasty stuff to deal with, but after a little while, you can be chowing down lasagna in the break room and talk about ANYTHING.

Here are some suggestions from a long, long list of nursing opportunities that you might want to consider: teaching, journalism/health reporting, clinic (so many clinics....day clinics, women's clinics etc), endoscopy suites, public health, immunization programs, TB programs, pharmaceuticals, telehealth.....visit websites for ideas.

Or, you could buy a big, CostCo sized container of Vicks and try working in the ER. You might just get used to it.

Good luck with whatever you do, and be reassured that you're not alone.

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Specializes in neurology.

So far I think Maternity/postpartum/labor & delivery is my best bet, I guess...

Please someone tell me, am I the only one who gets grossed out? I'm really starting to feel like I am... :uhoh21:

I mean, I have compassion for the patients and I WANT to help them and not get nauseated...

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Here are some suggestions from a long, long list of nursing opportunities that you might want to consider: teaching, journalism/health reporting, clinic (so many clinics....day clinics, women's clinics etc), endoscopy suites, public health, immunization programs, TB programs, pharmaceuticals, telehealth.....visit websites for ideas.

Realistically, how many of these would be an option without considerable acute care experience? Teaching nursing? Telehealth? Endoscopy suite? Without having worked as a nurse for long?

Public health (including immunizations, TB programs) is a possibility.

A bachelor's degree in general along with the background in health that a nursing degree provides can also open doors for non-nursing health-related jobs (with insurance companies, hospitals, health reporting).

OP, you DO have options, but it may not as easy & clear as finding and getting an acute care nursing job.

In regard to the nausea, maybe you've been psyching yourself out, getting nauseated at the least provocation and then avoiding those situations or letting someone else take over. Maybe a couple of days with LOTS of bathing and toileting and wound care would help get you over the worst of the it because you might be able to better adapt to it if you can't avoid it.

Is it too late to apply for a nursing assistant position? It's a great way to get more hands on exposure to patients - both the good and the bad parts that go with that.

Consider also the patients and the environment. A dark, cramped facility versus a bright, spaciaous facility. Patients who need lots of assistance versus patients who can perform most self care. Young patients versus old patients.

The personal care aspect might seem particularly overwhelming if you recently had a rotation on a long term care unit with patients who needed lots of assistance. We had such a rotation where one day I had to change an older man's diaper several times in a few hours because he had diarrhea and couldn't help himself. But there are many nursing environments where that would be very unusual.

Good luck as you figure things out!

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Specializes in M/S, dialysis, home health, SNF.

I would really stick it out for awhile. The first time I assisted a doctor putting in a central line, I nearly passed out. I still can't watch skin being cut, but I have no problem with open wounds. I don't like mucus either, or emesis, or diarrhea, but, eh, there's so much I've done in the past 25 years with the RN after my name, that I couldn't have done without it.

And as JJJoy said, you can't do any of it without experience. So hang in there and get the experience. Talk to other people you meet along the way and see where you want to go from there.

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awww... i know soon youll get use to it..as they say expose yourself more on what makes you feel uncomfortable.nursing is such a great profession and well i know in time, you will be a good one.im a new nurse myself, and ive experienced what you are experiencing (maybe a lil bit uncomfortable) ..i too cant stand code browns and loogie attacks..but i have been used to it.i think its just like what they do in phobia.. the desensitization thing.. (or however that was spelled lol) just hang on..

but if that still doesnt work, school nursing or company nursing could be options....

have a nice day.. :)

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Specializes in M/S, dialysis, home health, SNF.

Loogie attacks? Gross!

That really made me laugh!

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