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You never really can tell what your weakness is going to be until you get out there and do it. I've been in the OR during open hearts, gastric bypasses, etc. I don't mind suctioning. There are some seasoned nurses who gag while suctioning. I learned the importance of breathing through my mouth very early on.
Believe it or not, I became a little spaghetti-legged during a cataract removal surgery. Don't ask me why!!!!
Best Wishes!
njstudentnurse
After a bit, blood and guts isn't bad. You'll be talking about it through lunch before you know it. Takes a little while to get desensitized is all.
I still don't like certain procedures, ie, placing a chest tube, circumcisions, episiotomies...can almost feel it....yuk!
Hang in there, it definitely gets better!
We all, no matter how seasoned still have SOMETHING that makes us squeamish:p: You learn to adjust and eventually will drift into areas that do not include that which makes you gag. I, like a lot of people, do not like eye disorders - so I work ICU where we rarely see them. Nursing is a wide enough field that you will find a niche for nearly everyone.
Nicky-
I remember feeling a bit queasy in my OR rotation, when they had people open from stem to stern, and were using retractors & cautery, etc. All that standing still & the lack of airflow...it was really a white knuckle experience! It took all I had just to take some slow deep breaths. LOL! I found it interesting, but at times I felt like it was so hard to watch.
Yet, it turns out I function pretty well on the nursing floors...and I've seen some very nasty and serious wounds. I have seen deep abdominal wounds the size of footballs, gangrene, purulent drainage and the like. Not that I am "used to it," but you do get a little desensitized after awhile. We are all human, and each has his or her own "limits." I have heard of surgeons keeling over in OR because they didn't eat breakfast and/or just didn't feel up to it that day.
Hang in there, it will get easier. My coworkers & I can talk about yucky wound stuff while at lunch...and it doesn't bother us at all.
Blood and guts never bothered me. Before I took my CNA class Poo, pee, and vomit grossed me out. I'm not weak with poo and pee anymore, but vomit gets me every time, and I have been a CNA for about a year now. Some things are just harder for people to get over. I may never get over vomit, but I won't let it get in the way of my job.
Originally posted by maireLike USA said, mouth-breathing is a great thing.
If you are wearing a MASK of course. Suctioning and mouth breathing don't go together unless you protect your mouth! That stuff flys everywhere!
I haven't had any problems, although I find suctioning to be the least pleasant task it still doesn't send me running to the bathroom or anything.
Kim
TristateRN
74 Posts
Did anyone have any problems with looking at blood and guts before they started nursing school?
I can handle watching certain things on TV (like the health channels and ER) but I don't know how I would handle it face to face in real life. Do you just get used to it????
Nicky