Is there ANY department in nursing that I can avoid cleaning up poo?
What Members Are Saying (AI-Generated Summary)
Members are discussing the challenges and realities of cleaning up feces in healthcare settings, particularly in relation to different nursing roles. Some members express apprehension about this aspect of the job, while others share their experiences and offer advice to those new to the field. The discussion also touches on generational attitudes towards cleaning tasks and personal choices.
Sorry for the awkwardness but I looked through previous threads and read the stories and I think I would just lose it if I walked into a bathroom where the walls were covered with diarrhea and I had to clean it all up
My mom tries to tell me not to worry and "just get the LVN/CNA to clean it up" but for some reason I don't think that it works out that easily...
Is there any department in hospitals that wouldnt have to deal with this type of situation? psychiatric ward perhaps? working a job outside a hospital?
Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated :plsebeg:
I work in Cardiac Rehab and have not seen one bit of poo since I've been there (4 years). Before that I worked in ICU, and cleaned up every bodily fluid you could imagine, daily. I don't miss it!!!
Having worked inpatient psych, I can say with certainty that you WILL see a fair bit of poo there...I have had it thrown at me, smeared on my clothes, and one patient got fairly artistic with it and wrote his name in HUGE letters on his wall (he also drew the Masonic temple symbol with it)...then of course your demented patients will either eat it or make little figurines for you with it.
There's nothing like brushing poo off someone's dentures!!:omy:
Well, I've been a Nurse for years and I still HATE fecal matter.
No, I've never gotten "use to it". Guess I am in the minority here. I still gag and vomit when I smell sheet. No amount of Vicks and stuffing my nose with kleenex, wearing a mask, etc. seems to help.
Maybe it is a psychological aversion, but I can't help it. Just one o' those thangs......
Some say baby poop isn't as "bad' as adults.....well, I beg to differ. Just because that fecal matter is squeezed through a smaller orifice doesn't mean it smells better.
Perhaps I lucked out, somewhat, because I do not remember cleaning up human waste that often while I was in Nursing school.
Some say baby poop isn't as "bad' as adults.....well, I beg to differ. Just because that fecal matter is squeezed through a smaller orifice doesn't mean it smells better.
I don't want to sound like a prude, but I've yet to deal with any type of poo. I'm a new grad RN and still haven't had to deal with it. All through nursing school I never once changed a diaper, had to wipe someone, or clean it off of the walls (haha). The CNAs have always taken care of that for us. Actually, one of my clinical instructor specifically told us that we are not in nursing school to change diapers, we're there to learn about interventions, treatments, etc. I don't agree with that, however. And just to repeat... I am not a prude.. just have never had to deal with it before.
Just on a side note... I have a total aversion to it too!! Just thinking about it stimulates my gag reflex. uuugggghhh
Actually, one of my clinical instructor specifically told us that we are not in nursing school to change diapers, we're there to learn about interventions, treatments, etc.
AND...........how did she expect you to learn about interventions and treatments if you weren't doing skin assessments, which are often done while cleaning someone up?? And are you saying that if you were giving a gluteal injection or a suppository or administering an enema and the pt pooped, you would get a CNA to clean it up??
At the beginning of every shift I inform the patient that if there is any type of "restroom need" then to please call their CNA assigned to them. Sometimes they don't always listen and when they call me in, I politely remind them that the CNA is responsible for "those types of tasks." So far this has worked out very well. I've never had any of the CNAs get mad at me. Poopoo makes me gag.
I'm sure it makes the CNA gag too but he/she still does it. There's nothing wrong with poop people seriously need to get over themselves. People poop isn't anywhere near as bad as cat feces or horses dung.
We need to applaud her acknowledgement of her :chair: weakness. she asked: "is there any department...". be honest yes there are!
She is talking about the knee-deep brown codes and butt wiping factories. and yes they can be avoided! that's the reason our reps in all my areas listed under "none for" typically have an option to wear scrubs or wear no scrubs by job code description. they have OK options!
1. Outpatient units / clinics are where patients who have cognitive skills and physically able to clean themselves up with or without family and housekeeping back-up. a nurse can play the coordinator role.
2. In home health care, family are called upon to do their thing. so the "responsibility" does not rest on the nurse. even if a patient lives alone, bathroom /bedroom housekeeping is not the nurse's responsibility. it's an OK option not to do the clean up ( guess who does it when you leave?).
3. Nurse managers / administrators do not accept patient assignments at 95% of facilities. so all she has to do is pick among those facilities. code browns are delegated to the assigned team, I.e., it's an OK option to delegate for those nurses!
A poo-avoiding scenerio:
Work full time day shift in a dermatology clinic or Dr's office. go to school part time in the evening to complete credentials to start full time as a nurse in informatics.
For the inpatient nurse who refuses to assist with toileting, at least recognize that others are doing you a favor to accomodate your weakness and make it a point to help them out in other ways.
Just to clarify: I don't refuse to do anything. If I HAD to clean poo, I would. I just haven't run into that situation....yet. If I have to help someone with a bed pan, I would. If i had to wipe sometimes chin from vomit, I would. It's just that these types of things literally make me want to vomit myself... just typing this/thinking about it is making me quesy. I don't think this makes me a bad nurse persay, it's just not a strong point for me :)
Yes, I think I would. My aversion is just too great!!
If my nurses had done this when I was in the hospital last summer and I had an accident (really happened) I would have been very upset. It would have made it more embarassing for me then it already was.
Not sure where you are working, but there are many facilities that do not have CNAs any longer. And anything that a CNA can do, the RN is expected to do as well.
Sorry, but telling the patient that it is the CNA responsibility for that is just not the right thing or the correct thing to do. And if you are telling the patients that, do wonder what they are thinking of you as well.
That is an attitude that I would not tolerate of anyone. Many hospital units are now RN only and what would you do then? If a patient needs to be cleaned, the first one there does it. Period.
This is how things are done, not your way. CNAs can also be your best friend or your worst enemy, and this is something that they do not need to be doing because it is their job. Sorry, but it ultimately is yours, if one wants to help you, then that is great; but they definitely have more things to do than that.
wellnessrn
5 Posts
I work in Cardiac Rehab and have not seen one bit of poo since I've been there (4 years). Before that I worked in ICU, and cleaned up every bodily fluid you could imagine, daily. I don't miss it!!!