How much poop/puke/cleaning of bodily fluids is there in nursing school?

[priorities2]

Hey all. I'm starting in September and just want to know what I should be preparing myself mentally for. How much poop/puke/pee etc is involved? Is it a daily basis thing or just once in a while?

I'm not totally averse to it, just want to start getting prepared. =)

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Personally, I never liked psych. That is the beauty of nursing for we can all find our niche in a specialty. I'm glad you found a minimal exposure to patient excrement.

This "smug" "superior" "old" ICU/ED "nurse" congratulates you on finding your niche.

[HammockBound]

There is nothing more humiliating them coming out of surgery needing to pee and having to ask for a bedpan.

Not being able to walk to a bathroom and having to have the nurses help you in bed sucks. I guess you just have to remember no patient really wants to be in that situation so you do your best to make it the least amount humiliating for them as possible. Get it done quickly.

[mrsboots87]

I know this is an old thread, but I can say that to have only cleaned the "gross" stuff only 4 times in 27 clinical days is either very lucky, or took some very good avoidance on the part of the student. I am in block 1 and have helped toilet and clean up, or clean messed briefs at least once a shift on clinical. We are in LTC, and part of patient care is caring for ALL of the patient's needs, including the "gross" ones. Maybe not every clinical group cleans messed patients as much as mine, but it just comes with the experience. I just don't want others reading this to think that only cleaning a patient 4 times out of 27 is the normal. At least not while in nursing school.

As for the OP, congrats on being almost done!!

[mrsboots87]

Oh and as a side note, most of the cleaning so far has been for urine incontinence. Except for the one C. diff patient I helped with. *shudder*