Nursing Student with Fear of Fainting.

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First of all...I have been recently accepted into my BSN program and will begin in January! Yay! On a different note, ever since I fainted after my MMR vaccine back in March I have developed this unreal level of anxiety towards anything medical related. I have never been a person to get squeamish or faint from blood or needles but now I can't even walk into a doctors office without having my palms and feet get all sweaty and my blood pressure sky rocket. I'm terrified that I will fall over on the floor and embarrass myself! The fear isn't of the needle or the blood but of being embarrassed of fainting. Also, I have only fainted that one time other than blood drawn from not eating when I was a lot younger. So I know this is all in my head and not a serious condition. Has anyone else heard of this problem? I refuse to let these anxieties get the best of me. I've come too far and worked too hard to back out. Although I don't want to initially turn to medication, I don't exactly have the time nor money for a therapist. Please give me advice! Thank you ahead of time!

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Honestly, with all of the anxiety caused by nursing school, you may want to turn to a lower dose of an anti-anxiety drug. I don't mean that in any sort of offensive way. It may just ease some of that anxiety that you are feeling.

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Specializes in ER / Critical Care.

:) I was the same way. In the OR (as a student) I just calmly sit down or lean against the wall- don't lock your knees. I can "feel" it coming when I'm gonna faint, so I just excuse myself (watching an epidural start) before it happens and drink some water. The Dr was inserting a Central line and I was good until he pulled that big wire thing back out- uh oh I felt lightheaded and dizzy and tried to excuse myself LOL he was like "it's gonna be ok, just sit down" I was embarrassed at first, but afterwards he gave me the sterile hemostats that he hasn't used as my "trophy".

Eat carbs (oatmeal is great) before your clinical shifts, drink a lot of water, don't lock your knees and remember to breathe :)

I'm better now... Just takes some exposure to blood/guts/needles to desensitize you...

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I feel ya. I'm a fainter. Donated blood once. The Red Cross asked me not to come back because they had to spend too much time taking care of me after I zonked. Fainted when I saw my kid vomit. Seriously.

In nursing school I was deathly afraid of fainting. I made sure to tell my instructors about my issue. That way, if I had to leave a situation abruptly they would understand. Throughout school I only had to actually leave a room twice- once when an open abdominal wound was being unpacked and once when an IV push med was being given. Don't know why those two things got to me, but they did. There were lots of times I felt woozy, but was able to control it with self talk and distraction. It really does work.

My advice to you is to let your instructors know of your fear and ask if they have any suggestions for you. Also, in my case, I don't have any problem doing stuff....but watching stuff can make me feel ookie. I have been an RN for two years in ambulatory surgery and endoscopy and have never fainted....so you can work it out!

Most importantly....pay attention to what your body is saying. You know what "faint" feels like. If you get that feeling, get yourself somewhere safe and lying down. I didn't pay attention to this advice and have had a face full of stitches from fainting in an inopportune spot!

My guess is you will be just fine.....

Enjoy school!

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Specializes in ER / Critical Care.

Oh- and flexing your legs intermittently apparently helps too- when you're in a situation where you feel that you might faint.

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I think first you have to accept that its NOT something to be embarrassed about...it happens, and people won't think less of you. I think maybe after a few times back it'll end up going away on its own. If it helps try to be close to a seat. My speech professor always had a chair close by in case anyone got that nervous and felt like fainting; it helped a lot of students feel safe and confident :)

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Wow! Thanks guys! I was feeling like I was the only one out there with this problem. It feels good to know that I'm not alone. I'm making myself an appointment with my family doctor just to discuss my options. I'm also glad to hear that most professors are kind enough to let you leave the room. :)

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I promise you're not alone with this!!! I'm going through the same thing.

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I know that it's been awhile since this has been posted, but I'm just in my first year of nursing now and have been having the exact same thing! I have been through some anxiety and panic disorder in the past, and it's centered around my fear of passing out. It's not that I'm prone to passing out, it just is a major fear that triggers panic attacks (which is kind of ironic because by panicking it stops the possibility of passing out). Even just sitting in the class looking at pictures of ulcers on the projector gets me, because I 'feel' that, that is a situation where people may pass out, so I become desperately afraid of that happening, and so forth.

I hope your past few years have gone well and I'm curious to how it went and if you have any tips! Because I refuse to let this stop me from becoming a nurse, I've come too far to stop now.

Thanks!

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