HELP! I hate tubes!

[nervousSRN]

I am a second year ADN nursing student, and I am beginning to wonder what I was ever thinking when I decided to go for this career path. I am so conflicted because I can't seem to get any more comfortable with being in a hospital. Clinicals are my worst nightmare and I dread them every week. When I say I don't like tubes, I am not just talking about a mere dislike. The sight of them makes me queasy and lightheaded and any time I have had to perform an insertion on a patient (urinary catheters, ect) I start to sweat profusely, I stop being able to breathe, my vision cuts out and I have to excuse myself to avoid passing out in a sterile field.

I knew, going in to this, that I was phobic of doctors, nurses, and especially needles, but I thought facing my fears would help me grow as a person. Now I am not so sure that those fears will ever subside. Worse yet, I have no idea what I am going to do once I graduate and obtain my RN license. I was under the impression that I could obtain a position outside of the hospital and originally wanted the degree to work with psych patients anyway. I am also interested in possibly pursuing my MSN sometime in the future to to specialize in research. But I am really concerned that I will get stuck being a floor nurse in a hospital because of my lack of experience and I dont feel like I would last one single day doing the things I do at clinicals (especially at the pace of a hospital RN).

I also am freaked out because, while I know she is just trying to help me, my clinical instructor is making me do things involving tubes almost exclusively because she says "If you are going to be a nurse you are going to have to do nursing things." And I am the normal scared of hurting someone because I cant hold it together! Any advice from RNs who can sympathize with this issue is welcome, especially if you had this problem yourself and, like me, were crazy enough to just keep on showing up every day despite it.

TIA,

The laughingstock of my whole school

[beachgirl17]

Hello there! I just want to give you some encouraging words. I had similar reactions to certain things. It usually stemmed from me being worried that I would hurt the patient and I would get so worked up. I had to sit down in the hallway to keep from passing out about giving an IM injection. That was BEFORE I gave the injection - just the thought of it did me in. Another time I had to back out of a room and sit down was during an assessment because the patient had midlines abdominal staples after surgery. I felt so embarrassed and silly.

Fast forward seven years. I survived nursing school. I worked on a med-surg unit for awhile and then I moved onto the operating room. I once freaked out about everything, but now work in an OR!

I also had a severe fear of trach tubes. I thought my instructor was torturing me by making me do trach care, but I realize she was trying to desensitize me and make me successful. In my opinion, exposing yourself to these unpleasant things and proving to yourself that you are ok and did not pass out or freak out will hopefully diminish the bad feelings/experiences over time. By avoiding the circumstances, you may be building these fears up even more. I do not know if these tips will work for you individually or not, but I hope my words provide some help!

[tcvnurse, BSN, RN]

Please consider seeing a therapist to get some hep managing your anxiety.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

I agree with the above posts. Consider speaking with a therapist and also try to desensitize yourself by using the supplies or playing with them. Take home a foley kit or straight cath kit, get some IV supplies, play with some NG tubes. That is what they do with the little kids. Let them play with the syringes and stuff.