All Touchy Feely

[SraKristina]

Ok... i'm on the nursing wait list at an area community college and i'm getting nervous about whether i am meant to continue in this field or not...

I'm very intimidated by the workload, because while i love school im very much more into the "humanities" (english, history, etc) then i am science-y technical things. Unfortunately there arent many jobs for English and History majors and i think that i will enjoy the flexibility of nursing so i'm gonna try and teach myself to get more into the technical things (measuring, science, terminology, etc.)

But this is my biggest concern, its actually not big at all, but to me its enough to make me seriously consider another field. I am not a touchy-feely type. I think i would be ok with pts, because it is expected and necessary and i dont know them. But i've heard stories about classes (i think assessment) where basic procedures are performed on ME by other students and by me on other students. I'm just not comfortable with this at all. I HATE to be touched and poked around by people i dont know... please somebody calm me down and tell me what to expect

thanks SO MUCH -Kristina

[nurse4theplanet, RN]

I agree to give it at least a semester since you have come this far. If it doesn't work out, might I suggest journalism as an alternative (based on your love for English and History). just a thought.

[ICRN2008, BSN, RN]

It's possible that most schools are doing away with doing invasive procedures and even non-invasive procedures like bed baths on the students because of liability. Or at least that's the explaination we were given at the beginning of the semester... the only time we touched each other was in health assessment, and we wore tank tops and running pants.

We spent a lot of time this semster talking about therapeutic communication. I guess you could consider this touchy-feely (I did at first), but it is also a necessary nursing skill that can be developed with practice.

Good luck with your decision.

[SraKristina]

Thank you all so much you have made me feel a MILLION times better. I'm pretty sure i could handle bathing and cleaning up after pts esp. since you are TAUGHT the procedures and all of that but i was getting a sickening feeling in my stomach imagining a classmate doing something like that to me front of a bunch of my peers, you know what i mean?! to me it just seems like there is a difference between helping a pt in a bed with something they need done and pretending that a classmate is in that position. I dont mean that i'm not touchy feely in that i'm not compassionate or sympathetic or anything like that. I just personally am not comfortable with people touching and feeling me, esp. people i dont really know at times when i dont REALLY need the help. Anyways to make a long story short (er) thanks a bunch for everyones input ! :)

[Race Mom, ASN, RN]

I'm sure this will ease you a little more...

Most schools don't have the resources or ability to have a large lab class size. Our labs only have 8-10 students. Thats just a few more than you can fit at your dinner table. Small, close knit.

When you are tested on a skill, chances are you will test alone with your instructor if skill is on a dummy, or just you and your student "patient". The whole class isn't watching your like you're doing a speech. It is a test and the school I attend tests one-on-one, while the rest of the class is still practicing or waiting to be seen.

Woogy