New Guy / OR questions

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Hey guys! I'm a new guy with another "looking to get into nursing" question for ya so please forgive me. I'm 27, married with a son (another on the way), and I'm thinking about getting into nursing (or maybe resp. therapy, I can't decide). My mom worked in OR for years and loved it, and it always fascinated me to hear her stories of what she did everyday. That being said, if I went to nursing school, my path of choice would be the OR. The only reservation I have about school (clinicals) is the "brown stuff". I can deal with the red stuff and the green stuff, but "brown stuff"- well, I hate it. I wasn't even crazy about changing my son's diapers, let alone a complete stranger/grown adult. How much of this stuff can I expect to deal with while in school? I know that anything worth anything is not going to come without sacrifice and obviously this one I'm going to have to make. The other usual issues about "male nursing" doesn't bother me one bit. I can take ribbing about being weird for wanting to do a "woman's job" but like I said- it's the "brown stuff" that's worrying me. I'd appreciate any advice you can give me about going straight into OR after school, school in general, or the "brown stuff"...lol. If nothing else, maybe you guys got a good laugh in on my part.

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Specializes in PACU.

I've always had a weak stomach for the brown stuff. School and working as a nurse have gotten me largely over it. It's still nasty (the odor mostly), but whatever. I actually had a big brown mess the other night (of my own making--don't ask) and just started cracking up while I cleaned it up. :chuckle You'll have to deal with it to a certain extent in school, but it should be tolerable. I can only recall a few times during clinicals that I had to slay fudge dragons.

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I'm a little less worried about it now. I talked to my sister today who is actually in the nursing program that I would apply to. She started clinicals this past week and she said it hasn't been too bad so far- she's going to keep me updated. :) I know the pros of the career far outweigh the cons a few uncomfortable experiences in school, so I'm just going to have to cowboy up and get it done. Thanks!

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LOL, your post was great. I so agree about the "brown stuff". It is NO fun, which is one of the MANY reasons I'm choosing to go into pediatrics when I graduate. Baby and kid "brown stuff" smells soooo much better than old lady/man "brown stuff". It's bad either way, but you can suffer thru usually. There's always help too, other students, cnas.. etc..

Richard

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I know exactly where you're coming from, and yes...I can identify with that phobia of the nasty things that can eminate from the human body.

While treading water on the 2.5 year long waiting list to get into my nursing school of choice (I FINALLY start in August, YAY!), I decided to get certified as an MA just to get some baseline medical experience. I had no illusions that being an MA was anything like being an RN, but as I had no previous medical experience I figured it couldn't hurt.

Long story short: I ended up moving from woring in a large medical practice to working in a hospital lab. About half the time on the job is spent on the various floors doing phlebotomy. This opportunity alone has been worth its weight in gold as far as I'm concerned...let me tell you why:

Previously I was worried about going into nursing only because I had an extreme phobia of vomit. Couldn't stand to see it, hear someone doing it, smell it. Well, a couple of months working the floors of the hospital fixed that! Now I can draw blood from someone WHILE they are blowing chunks and it doesn't bother me....much.

So, I guess my advice is don't worry about it. Repeated exposure to it will desensitize you to it. Of course you'll never learn to like it, but I suspect over time you'll look at it as just another incident of "brown stuff."

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Specializes in LTC, Nursing Management, WCC.

I can't stand nasty stuff like blood, poop and NEEDLES. These are things that scared me when I started the nursing program. But now as an RN, these things do not bother me because there is a patient who needs me. For example I had to digitally remove feces last night from a ladies rectum. I was like... umm... I don't like poo. But she is one of my patients and she was in pain. The nurse in me took over and I did what I had to do. Gloves (double J), lube, lots of it and my finger. I had to insert my finger and dig out the stool. My point to this is like I said before. The nurse in you will take over and you will be able to overcome many things that normally gross you out.

Good luck and don't let these phobias conquer you before you even start!! You can do it! :up:

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Jokes on me!!! Both my younger sisters are RN's back in Canada, and I sued to bug them about wiping butts!! Forward a few years and guess what? I'm in school now and wiping butts!! One who laughs first,laughs last!! lol Its not that bad!!

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

I used to make fun of my dentist's "nurse shoes" all the time....then had to wear even uglier shoes myself in nursing school....

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