i recently decided to change careers and i've left my office job to go back to nursing school. this is what i really want to do because i love medicine and science and i'm actually a very talented student i seem to learn the subjects with ease. but anyway, i've never worked in a hospital or around people in a healthcare setting. i had worked in a veterinarian clinic when i was in high school and i seemed fine with cleaning animal poop, blood etc. i had also been in the operating room and witnessed a few cats being spayed so i knew i was fine with blood and guts.
so while i'm waiting to get into my program i thought i would get a job as a caregiver, just to get some experience working with actual humans and see how it worked out. i found a place that had an in home caregiver job working with mentally challenged individuals and they offered to pay for me to get my caregiver license which sounded like a good deal so i accepted the job. on my first day on the job they show me what i'm going to be doing: helping patients toilet themselves, documenting the results, and bathing them. at first i thought i could handle it, but the house has 4 adult men to be cared for and when i had to watch one of them being helped on the toilet and showered i was very disturbed by it.
i don't want to sound like a prissy little princess to you experienced nurses but how can i get past the feelings of disgust? i am literally terrified of having to see these guys nude and shower them not to mention wiping their butts. i know it has to be done and i should get over it, does it happen gradually or does it mean i should choose another career? these are the only things i get grossed out by. blood, horrible wounds, mucous, vomit, skin lesions don't bother me! is there anything someone has told you or you told yourself to get through such situations?
i'm going to be so disappointed in myself if i can't go through with it, i've worked so hard and it's my dream to help people and work in a hospital. i know eventually i'll have to do catheters and that thought upsets me too. i guess i could work at a blood bank and just draw blood but my career options would be limited if i did that.
Get a tube of chapstick and replace the contents with vicks vapor rub or something, pull that baby out and take a big wiff when the aroma of poo starts to get to you
there are such cultural taboos in this country about seeing/touching genitalia-- it's as if we could all sorta forget that every human has one (unless horribly disfigured). so... a desensitizing exercise is in order, and you can do it in public without anybody knowing, for as long as you need to.
go sit on the library steps, or near a park, or at the entrance to a bus station..anywhere where a lot of people are going to pass by while you watch. every male that passes you, say silently to yourself, "member." every female, say to yourself, "lady parts." you have to work fast in crowds, too. i promise you that pretty soon you will be giggling to yourself, and then it will get ridiculously boring, and then you'll be over it.
you can also spend a little longer in the bathroom every time you use it. get to know your own excreta more than cursorily, and this will desensitize you to others'.
i know this sounds weird, but hey. do you want to get over it or not?
If you are uncomfortable working alone with 4 men, then seek another job. There is such a need for caregivers that you should find a new one without too much trouble. Life is too short to work in a job that you feel comfortable in.
Some good advice here, when I told my wife I wanted to be a nurse after 35 years as an engineer, she (a retired nurse) suggested I start as a CNA to see if I fully understood some of these tasks. It was a little tough during my clinicals until a wise nurse told me that we were letting our hands do what our patients hands could no longer do....strange as it may sound, it brought a certain nobliity to our tasks of wiping butts. In any case, whatever you do, do it with compassion and you will earn the gratitude of your patient....not a bad tradeoff for a few moments of personal discomfort. Good Luck to you
Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Flight.
The way I got over it was already mentioned but I think it bears repeating: imagining that this person I am cleaning is one of my parents. Both of my parents would be so horrified to be in a situation where they would need that kind of help, and would feel so ashamed and embarrassed, and would be so thankful for someone that acted like it was no big deal and smiled at them while giving them back a little dignity by getting them clean. For me, it is hard to focus on the gross stuff when I am thinking about their feelings, so it is a great distraction.
I think everyone goes through this. I am going through it again because I have OB this fall and I lost it when I saw a picture of a placenta in my textbook! I've never seen one before. But I will take my own advice, and when the time comes in clinical I will be thinking about the mother and the baby, and the miracle of life! :)
placentas arent that gross in person, if anything..they are kinda cool and look way worse in the book
One of the funniest quotes ever: You know you're a nurse when you've seen more memberes than a prostitute!
I think I just got used to it. I mean, when you remember that what you're doing is helping someone who needs help, it helps. I mean, its normal to feel that way. We are conditioned to veiw nudity in a certain manner, but in health care all that flies out the window!
.....and before you know it, you'll be eating lunch w/ a coworker discussing a BM you had to digitally remove from an impacted pt or a particularly juciy wound you just dressed.
I remember when my mom asked me if it bothered me to clean pt's BMs. It helps to realize how much you're helping the patient. There are probably very few people who'd rather someone else wipe their butts and, like someone said, they're probably more uncomfy than you. Just know that you've got to help that patient, and that's the help he or she needs at the time. I've gotten much more comfy with it, but I'm still glad that, if I'm wiping someone's butt, chances are, they can't see my face as I've yet to master appropriate facial expressions during code browns.
Before I entered into the nursing program I decided that I was going to get my STNA license and get some experience, make sure that I could handle it. Well, I have to say that the first few times toileting a resident and showering a grown man/woman was disturbing to me. After doing it a few times it just became second nature. Now that I am in nursing school I have the advantage when dealing with those situations and I promise it will get easier. You have to put yourself in their shoes. I hope that someone nice would be there for me when I need them. Good luck :)
Never ever ever put yourself in an unsafe situation.
I've heard more than one story about agencies putting techs in unsafe situations or not fully informing their staff about client 'issues'.
You do need to be cautious. I just don't know how I would feel about being alone w/ 4 adult males and having them be full care. Seems alot for a tech.
The sexual aspect? not sure. But the woman in me says if it feels wrong it IS wrong and don't risk putting yourself in danger.
This doesn't address the shower/toileting issue, that you just jump in and do it, and don't think about it. That stuff doesn't bother me at all. I'll take that over sputum any day!!!!
Like lots of other people said, it gets easier... that being said... it gets worse. Especially in the hospital when you have elderly gentlemen who can't see, don't get around, etc... I had one guy who was so full of schmegma that I just about puked! That was during CNA clinicals... it literally took 20 washclothes (4 wipes each) to clean 1 little member up! and oh my god, his toes... that's for another day. I just lost my appetite thinking about it.
My advice: If you are uncomfortable working with 4 adult men, alone, get a CNA job at a Nursing Home. Not fun all the time but definitely pays off. #1 Many of the people have dementia and the ones that don't usually don't give a crap who is looking at them. #2 You will get LOTS of practice... lol! #3 Bonus you will get to bond with a few residents and find out whether or not you can get over it!
I don't know if you ever really get over really nasty poop but you learn to compensate. The hardest thing for me is to not make any faces! Good luck!
1manwlfpk
24 Posts
Get a tube of chapstick and replace the contents with vicks vapor rub or something, pull that baby out and take a big wiff when the aroma of poo starts to get to you