Just had my first day as a student nurse, advice needed....

lilaclover6984 · Jan 16, 2014

Also I should tell you, I went home crying after my first day as a student nurse when I realized that is what I'd be dealing with. However I stuck it out and it does get easier and you don't focus on that part so much. But with that in mind I never did learn to like that part of job and always had my eye on clinic work. Now that I'm working at a clinic I'm so happy I stuck around and found something I love!

OCNRN63, RN · Jan 16, 2014

I am a student nurse and I just had my first day as a nurse yesterday and to be honest I didnt really enjoy it. Maybe I was being naive but I didnt expect so much poo and pee lol. Cleaning waste off of people all day isnt really what I thought I was signing up for. Im also uncomfortable with bed baths. I asked the nurse I was working under and she said thats pretty much part of the daily job. I am now wondering is it just the ward im on? (lots of older people) or if thats just some thing nurses deal with on a daily basis? If it is im not sure this job is for me... Anyway let me know what you think from your experiences, thanks for any advice

Deleted.

OCNRN63, RN · Jan 16, 2014

I know you guys are right, I mean that is what nursing is all about. The only way I can rationalize what im feeling is to say, the idea of washing people and cleaning excrement is ok. The reality of doing it is completely different. Im starting to doubt the wheter this is for me. Im just not sure I can see myself cleaning waste off of people for the rest of my life. Im a first year student... Is it time to cut my losses and get out now or give it time?

Deleted.

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jan 16, 2014

Aw, c'mon, I remember the 1st time I dealt with other peoples body fluids, and it was really hard and unsettling.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Jan 16, 2014

30 years ago, I felt exactly the same way, it quickly becomes routine. You are in nursing fundamentals, and that's where you learn baths, etc.

Cleaning and bathing patients is actually a very small part of our jobs.

I haven't given a bath in years... I will help an assistant cleaning up a patient, but it' s far from my major duties.

Focus on what drew you to nursing in the first place, this stage will pass.

nichefinder · Jan 16, 2014

wait a minute here, I know I might be flamed for this, but I have to make a point about this. It looks like the norm of any nurse is "embrace poop, pee, vomit, and everything&anything negative that come, for you are a nurse"... I understand that our path as professionals has been paved and established by the older seasoned RNs, and I appreciate that, but as the field is filling up with younger and younger generations, I can see that the younger branches see things a little differently than the older ones. The educational regimen and academic demand in scientific realm of nursing has augmented exponentially since the beginning of nursing education, and as you all know, becoming an RN is pretty darn difficult challenge now. So now when I hear others say "what did you expect, you should swim in the pool of poop, pee, vomit... Why? Because you are a nurse!" This kind of thinking has engrained deeply well into our profession, but the tide has turned! We are relatively well-paid, highly educated, specialized workforce. I have Bachelor's degree that an engineer, teacher, scientist, biologist or anyone else in the world has, and I do not associate my profession to poop, pee, and vomit! Yes, cleaning is part of our job for it entails patient safety against skin breakdown, but I guarantee you I always let the CNAs know if someone needs cleaning b/c most of times, I am busy doing nursing, such as medicating, assessing, documenting; I know my belief is not one in a million, but I am not afraid to voice it. I really think RNs should value their degree for crying out loud. I refuse to accept that I suffered 4 and half years of my youth to attain a degree and a profession that embraces cleaning body fluids as a measuring stick of how well I am performing.

Let the flame... begin, but that is what I really believe, because I value what I chose, and I honor my colleagues.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 16, 2014

Moved to the Nursing Students forum...and edited your title so as to end the confusion about your role. Keep in mind that as far as healthcare goes, the title of "nurse" is protected in many places throughout the world. Until you pass your licensing exam, you will need to add "student" or another indicator in front of it so it's clear that you are not actually a nurse...yet

sharpeimom · Jan 16, 2014

Maybe my doddering, creaking, old brittle bones gave me away, but as a charter member of Ye Crusty Ol' Bat Society, I still believe that dealing with pee and poo are also part of a nurse's job description. I also feel suctioning, denture cleaning, cleaning barf from cheap red rotgut wine infused with the essence of chilidog which were both consumed late last night, are all bona fide aspects of patient care and are, therefore, nursing jobs. When I'm doing intake on an addicted patient who has eaten and drunk imprudently, it matters not one bit if I have an associates degree in nursing or the MSN plus that I hold. My patient needs me and I'll do what needs to be done. If I'm in the middle of a meds pass or am dealing with something I can't just pick up later, unless it's urgent, it will wait.

There will always be a job or two that every nurse hates, but you can sometimes trade jobs or suck it up. One of my "yuck!" jobs is denture cleaning, but I soon discovered that I can do it if I wear gloves and hold the dentures in paper towels. Barf, pee and poo soon become run-of-the-mill. Honest. As you do it more and more, you become increasingly concerned about the patient's embarassmet and discomfort. Remember, absolutely NO one wants to have accidents. If your "no big deal..." attitude makes the patient feel calmer and less embarrassed about what happened, you've been professional.

I remember the first time I changed an older cousin's newborn who was being breastfed. I opened his diaper and is poop was the most revolting (I thought then) shade of GREEN! Yack! Ick! Barf! Guess what? I survived and got past it. Give it some more time. Put a teabag under your mask, dab some oil of wintergreen or peppermint under your nose. Do you have Vicks ointment? It contains menthol, and other ingredients in it. It works great to cover smells.

Good luck and welcome to Allnurses!

OCNRN63, RN · Jan 16, 2014

Deleted. Apparently, the opinion of an "old" nurse is not wanted, and besides, nursing school is sooooo much harder now, I have no idea what I'm talking about. "Old" nurses probably wouldn't even get through nursing school now; we're too dumb and dotty.

/rant

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jan 16, 2014

We may be old and crusty-- and still working in a variety of settings, some in bedside care, and many not-- but I would put dollars to doughnuts that every single one of us still remembers the feelings we had encountering that first bedpan with feces in it, that first messy bedsheet, placing that urinal, or the awkwardness of washing the perineum or scrotum and member of someone we just met ten minutes before.

It also annoys me that if you stop the average person on the street and say "Nursing" one of the first words that shows up is "bedpans." What is it with the fixation on excreta, anyway? As said once, yours doesn't smell like roses either. :) Just as your time in the loo is a pretty small percentage of your day, so it is for most of our patients. Imagine how embarrassed they are to need your help, and how much the rest of your patient care and teaching will depend on how you set the expectations for the rest of your care right then, when the patient is at his most vulnerable.

Well, young student, we older ones also remember how we felt that older nurses had to so little to tell us that we felt was remotely applicable to our special-snowflake circumstances. That's being young.

But even Florence Nightingale had her first poopy bed to clean, and she managed to get people to listen to her about what the totality of nursing could be. Perhaps you'll pick that up from us here. Perhaps not. But if it's any help to you, try hard to remember that every single one of us has been in your shoes. And we are still here.

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jan 16, 2014

Hey, I am old and crusty too LOL.

However, I can still remember my first shift in a nursing home doing nothing but poop and pee duty, and what a shock it was. I wasn't in nursing school then, but that 1st CNA training day almost made me bail.

My point is that while that is one aspect involved in nursing there are many other aspects that are fun or satisfying or rewarding and the OP should see that side also before bailing completely.

I don't think a negative initial reaction means a person is not equipped to become a nurse. I think it is a normal understandable reaction.

NurseDirtyBird · Jan 16, 2014

No need for the long explanations or "not all nurses do x, y or z..." YOU WILL GET USED TO IT. Keep doing it. Go home and throw up for a couple days. Breathe through your mouth, put some vapo rub under your nose, think about anything else but what you're looking at and just do it. I promise, you'll be fine.