Nursing student seeking advice from the pros!

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i'm currently in my second year of nursing school and i am in desperate need of tips on how to deal with the "smells of nursing". i can deal with some smells but the smell of bowel movements leave me running to the patient's bathroom gagging! i informed my professor and her response was to find every incontinent patient on the floor for me to clean up. i was sick the rest of the day! it's very embarrassing and i know i need to get over it but i need some advice.

:o please help!!!

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Breathe through your mouth. However, if you absolutely must breath through your nose when the worst smells are around (thought I can't imagine you would) try some carmex or some sort of menthol under your nose to help mask it.

Barring those two ideas, ginger works well for a queasy stomach. ;)

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By the way, it WILL get better over time. You'll gradually become desensitized to the smells to the point that you'll laugh at how badly they affected you when you were new. Besides. the olfactory nerve tends to lose its effectiveness when inundated with stimuli. :)

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Option 1 enjoy until your nose burns out and you get used to it.

Option 2 get one of those little chap stick looking containers of vicks vap o rub keep it in your pocket. On those really aromatic occasions a little dab (right above your lip) will do you.

Hope this helps

aloha

Jim

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A little dab of solid perfume in your nose will keep those smells away. Not too much since perfume is not allowed as part of the clinical dress code

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Specializes in Ortho, Med surg and L&D.
i'm currently in my second year of nursing school and i am in desperate need of tips on how to deal with the "smells of nursing". i can deal with some smells but the smell of bowel movements leave me running to the patient's bathroom gagging! i informed my professor and her response was to find every incontinent patient on the floor for me to clean up. i was sick the rest of the day! it's very embarrassing and i know i need to get over it but i need some advice.

:o please help!!!

hello,

please do not be embarassed by this, it is a natural reaction to powerful odors.

i prefer to not breath through my mouth because that thought grosses me out more than does the smell, but, that is me.

the previous posters are right, you are not desensitized to it. possibly you have a very beneficial nose! yup, you may be blessed with such a sensitive nose that you will be able to smell, intuitively when a patient has a change.

view this as a positive, if you can. i know, gross. thing is there is a difference between a c-diff stool, a diarhhea from too much tube feeding and diarhhea that is tinged with or loaded with blood. you will note the difference, (i know, not a pretty thought but, to your benefit).

a friend of mine changed my perception of cleaning up patients when she shared her horror and embarassment at having been a patient after a traumatic auto accident. so, remember that it is equally gross for the patient to have to smell that and to not be able to care for it themselves.

good luck!

gen

p.s. and if all else fails why not bring in two masks, one for yourself and one for your patient, if you can find a calm and respectful way to ask the patient if she/he would care for one while you clean them up? said with a respectful and caring smile, they may appreciate it, maybe...

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Specializes in Geriatrics, MS, ICU.

Don't be embarrassed. It happens to all of us at one point or another. The menthol trick works really well, and breathing through your mouth. I still have difficulty with GI bleeds, and C-Diff....WHEW! But, like a previous posted stated consider this a good thing. Some people are not able to pick up on certain smells which can give very vital information about a patient's status!

Good luck!

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Specializes in OB.

I keep wintergreen lifesavers in my pocket and pop one of those in my mouth and crunch it up, it really seems to help.

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Need Advise....

I am currently in school for my BSN (nursing). I took my first Chemistry class CHM 101 and Failed. It has left me really discouraged, I wanted to know if I shoud start thinking about a different career or give it another shot. If I cant pass CHM 101 will I really be able to cut it or is CHM just really hard???? PLease Help???:o

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I made a C in the first part of Chemistry, and I am currently having trouble keeping my head above water in the second part of chemistry. It seems like my Prof. says one thing, but does another. What is so sad about the situation is that he wrote a letter of rec. for me to get into Nursing School. Emory School of Nursing did take me with that C in Chemistry. I was really upset with him for a while because he knows that I am suppose to go to Nursing school in the fall, but he won't be straight with me about my grade. I have tackled Micro (B), Anatomy (A), and Physiology (A), but Chemistry is just one of those things. I am looking for some good advice on Chemistry and Nursing also....I do know that there is a bit of it in Physiology...:barf02: Just know that you are not alone and I am feeling your pain. Sometimes I sit in a Chemistry class and I leave feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.

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I seem to have an issue with the critical thinking on communication/ psych exams...any advice?

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Thanks for the comment. I took A&P and passed with a "B" but their is something about CHM that just makes me feel like a complete dummy.. I am gonna take another stab at it and hope for the best....:uhoh3:

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