Nursing a bad career choice for me?

[InWonderland]

I've been pondering nursing for quite awhile with my ultimate goal being a Family Nurse Practitioner, the only thing that puts me off on reaching this goal is actually having to go through being a nurse before becoming a Nurse Practitioner. There are elements to nursing that I don't think I'll be able to handle. For example, I can't stand to smell a foul odor, that includes cigarettes, alcoholics, breath and body odors, but I feel stupid when I think about not pursing a career as a nurse practitioner just because of that. Lately I've been looking at strangers asking myself if I could touch them, clean their naked bodies, and or bodily fluids and I'm not too convinced that I could. I thought I could persuade myself to bathe the patients but then I found out that you also have to clean their nether regions, and I just don't think I am capable of this. This is not an issue solely based on vanity, I am a surviving rape victim, and honestly, I don't know if I could give some strange man that, I don't know a bath, or touch or clean him down below. The idea kind of disturbs me, and I don't want to get to a certain point and then realize that I can't do this. So does it sound like nursing's not for me? Are smells and touching strangers something you can conquer or do you think I'd just wind up miserable? And if that is the case do you have any other career recommendations, I thought about being a P.A, but I've hard that getting experience is hard, and PA school is competitive to get into.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I think you are wise to be hesitant about a nursing career. Even as a Nurse Practitioner, you would have to deal with things (and people) that smell bad, etc. You would also have to examine private parts of the body, etc. If those are things that you can't handle, then nursing would be a poor career choice for you. Yes, there are nursing jobs in which those types of activities are minimal or even non-existent, but you would still have to endure them during your training -- and perhaps in your first few jobs out of school.

You should resolve this issue before you invest a lot of time and money in a nursing education. Perhaps you could volunteer in a hospital to see how you would react to the environment. If that goes well, perhaps you could take a nursing assistant course to see how you would react to having to interact with patients, touch them, etc. But do yourself a huge favor and don't plunk down thousands of dollars, go into debt, etc. to start nursing school until you know you will be able to handle it.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Become a CNA (certified nursing assistant) before you invest in a career in nursing. Training to become a CNA only takes a few weeks to a few months, and typically costs a few hundred dollars at local community colleges and training centers. Some nursing homes will even train you to become a CNA for free in exchange for working for their company for a few months to 1 year.

Some people have said that dealing with stinky people, unpleasant smells, unpalatable sights, and strangers' private parts progressively became easier once they started working as CNAs. Poop, smoky breath, and body odor used to smell horrible to me before I entered the medical field, but many people will agree that the smells fade over time and you actually will acclimate to them.

In addition, nurse practitioners can become effective only by working in the trenches for several years. Would you want a nurse practitioner to examine you, diagnose, and prescribe medicines and treatments for you if she/he had no real world clinical experience working in a hospital or clinic prior to becoming a NP?

[InWonderland]

Thanks to both posters who provided such considerate and knowledgeable answers. I'll start volunteering at a local hospital during the end of May, and I've began checking into some upcoming CNA programs.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Good for you, InWonderland. I think you are being very sensible about this ... and I wish you the best of luck.