Getting over the Gross Factor

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I am considering a career in nursing for many many reason. currently i hold a undergrad business degree, no nursing experience and am considering going back for a 2 year. However, the one thing that concerns me is if Iwill be able to handle the blood, putting a trach in, and whatever other function that could be deemed as "gross".

Has anyone had this concern? how do you overcome it?

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Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

your post me me smile.

I can handle blood as long as its not my own.

I can handle pediatric patients without a problem, yet I have trouble handling adult patients (this is why I do peds nursing!!! Love the kiddos!)

As for trachs- I love em! They are the easiest thing to me now (after lots of practice with them). Putting them in only implies removal of the old one, and insertion of the new one dipped in some KYJelly for a smooth insertion. Trachs are only changed once a month or as needed, such as for a plug or for dislodgement.

Now secretions..secretions make me gag! To empty a suction cannister I have to hold my breath. I also cant stand hearing someone bringing up phlegm that can be heard for like, a mile away. It makes me sick to my stomach.

Another gross function can be doing incontinent care, helping people to and from the bathroom and with wiping. BM's are another smell that make me gag. But there are tricks for everything and although I've gagged, cant say I've ever vomited.

With all of that being said...after 8 months of so of being an RN, and 1 1/2 years of being an aide, I've gotten used to most things. But everyone has something that makes their toes curl.

Going to school for nursing is such a rewarding career. No matter how many horror stories you hear, nursing is never a dull moment. No 2 days are ever the same, and no 2 patients are ever the same. Its full of exciting and rewarding opportunities and you are always learning something new.

I hope you do decide to try nursing and that you love it!

-Meghan

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i like this thread! keep em coming guys! thanks meghan for your words of encouragement.

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Specializes in ICU, psych, corrections.

I work in the ICU and can handle many of the "gross" things that come my way. Blood, sputum, urine, and stool don't make me wince, but God forbid someone vomits. UGH. I can go in and clean up a C-diff or GI bleed patient without so much as blinking an eye, but please, please, please don't make me clean up vomit or even be in the same room as someone who is tossing their cookies. It works out well because there are many nurses I work with who can't stand suctioning trachs or any kind of sputum. So we switch off if my patient vomits! LOL. I can't even handle cleaning up after my cats when they puke. I carefully cover with a towel and wait for hubbie to come home...ROFL!!!! Thankfully, working in the ICU for a little over 2 years, I've come across vomit twice. Once with a patient who was getting ready to transfer and had just been bumped up to a regular diet and another from tube feeding. My, my, my.....tube feeding vomit is absolutely disgusting! I about lost my cookies when having to clean that one up. Thankfully, my patient was pretty much unaware of what was going on (on a Versed gtt at 5mg/hr and morphine at 2mg/hr) so I didn't feel too horrible about the grimace on my face.

Funny how stool used to bother me when I first started in the ICU. I was in nursing school (had just finished up my 1st semester) and remember going in a room to help one of the RN's (I was a tech/Apprentice Nurse). I was horrified to see that the patients had their BM's in the bed. I guess I thought they wore adult briefs or used bedpans, etc. LOL....I look back now and think how silly I was and all the preconceived notions in my head. To be honest, I would MUCH rather clean up stool from an incontinent patient who went all over the pads they are laying on than to clean out a bedpan or a BSC.

Melanie = )

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you will get used to the gross factor. i think everyone has their little things that make them go ewww like me i hate feces ! a friend of mine hates yacking sounds when people vomit. that personally does not bother me in the least. You'll get used to it !

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The more you work in the field, the more you will get used to the unpleasentries that go along with it. Not all nurses have cast iron constitutions- I remember being a patient when I was septic, I started throwing up into my washpan and the responding nurse came in, saw me and started throwing up in my sink! Noone "likes" dealing with the gross things, but honestly, you tolerate it better and better as time goes on.

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