Nursing without the "yukkies".

Furball · Oct 31, 2003

Hey, aren't you the nsg student in another thread criticizing nurses who leave the profession for greener pastures?

If you don't like "yukkies" go into accounting or something.....

good luck

ResearchRN · Oct 31, 2003

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any area of nursing with patient contact that isn't exposed to some degree of "grossness". I doubt that PA's can avoid it as well. Perhaps healthcare is not for you....

bagladyrn, RN · Oct 31, 2003

I keep seeing variations on this theme. The simple fact is, that while you may eventually find a position that doesn't require much direct patient contact, there is NO WAY to make it through nursing school and getting the necessary experience without encountering every liquid, solid, and semisolid the human body can produce! (Some you never even knew existed). Sorry, but this is reality, not meant as a cut for you, but if you know you don't ever want to deal with this, I'd suggest looking at other careers where you might be more comfortable.

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 31, 2003

welcome to the boards, cool nickname.

Well, to be truthful, I think it's a matter of attitude!!! Nursing should be WHOLISTIC, to my thinking. iAnd, if all you think is puke, poop, guts, and blood, and dont' see t human being behind these so called "yuckies", then it most certainly is not for you. Even NP's deal with yuckies in their work...but they see wholistically in their practices. It's vital to nursing to think this way. The "yuckies" are a small part of the job...and not at all part if you do research, case management or other administrative types of nursing. Yes, there may be a place for you...but....

Really, examine carefully WHY you wish to enter nursing. It is not for everyone and may or not be for you. Shadow a nurse for a few days to see what you think. Only you can decide this for yourself.

Best wishes.

TLC RN · Oct 31, 2003

My cousin got thru 3 and a half years of medical school and quit. He is a major germ freak and could not handle the gross stuff he had to touch. He would tell me he would layer up with 3 pairs of gloves to do procedures....now he is happy coaching tennis. Think long and hard about what you are doing. It does not make sense to spend your time and money doing something that makes you gross. If you decide you can handle the occasional yuck, then go for it.

neechee · Oct 31, 2003

What did you think nursing was? A day at Disney World. We don't need nurses in the profession who are not into bodily fluids. There are two things you need to do...1. Get help! and 2. Get out of nursing...

Furball · Oct 31, 2003

I have a fire phobia...the news videos of So Cal freak me out.....it wouldn't be very smart of me to go into firefighting now would it?

chad75 · Oct 31, 2003

Is ALL nursing involved in puke, crap, piss and anything else I forgot to mention?

Not all nursing fields require you to deal with the above, but to be a decent nurse I would feel you would need to spend some time on the floor dealing with "puke, crap and piss" (interesting choice of words I might add lol) If you ever plan on having a child you would also have to deal with it.

I was not that crazy about dealing with body fluids either, I went straight in to psych right out of nursing school and only had to deal with the ocasional body fluid. The last couple of years I've been doing medically oriented nursing and now body fluids don't really bother me, yes I still hate dealing with feces and vomit (urine doesn't really bother me unless the person has had a really bad UTI), but just like any other job there are parts you are not going to like. I thank god every day that we have 5 CNA's for 30 patients :) I hardly ever am needed to clean someone up, but I do it when I have to and don't complain :roll

AshleyKay · Oct 31, 2003

There's actually a joke among our classmates because I always seem to be around when someone is throwing up, and a friend of mine in class always catches someone when it's coming out the other end. I wasn't worried about "yuckies",but being thrown up on the first time did make me kind of go ok whoa that's someone's throw up all over me, but immediately you move into action and just want to help them out because they're miserable, you start cleaning them up and getting them what they need and completely forget that you're covered in puke. All you're worried about is getting them comfortable again. Then you go take care of your scrubs and it's no big deal. Other students in my class who were really concerned about being bothered by vomit and wiping butts got over their concerns really quickly. The problem is that, if you decide to work in an area simply because the patients don't throw up and aren't contageous, that doesn't say much about you as a nurse,...you should want to work in a certain area because it's what you're interested in. You're going to see things that are 100 times worse than puke no matter where you're at. I know I've barely scratched the surface on the things I've had to deal with in clinicals. However, you may be surprised that it doesn't bother you nearly as much as you think it will which is what happened to the two students in my class who really wanted to be nurses but were worried about how they'd handle certain things. They were fine after the first butt wiping and vomit party. Your empathy for the patient should override the "yuck" as a nurse. But you're really not going to find any areas of nursing where you don't deal with "yuckies."

Jay-Jay, RN · Oct 31, 2003

The worst, absolutely the WORST doctor I know hides in the corner of the room if you've got anything remotely contagious.

The stories I could tell you!!

Had a lady dx with Ca of the ovary. Prior to the dx, she was on a weight loss program because she needed surgery for an umbilical hernia. Well, she just kept getting bigger... He told her she wasn't counting calories properly! (In other words, cheating on her diet.) Then she started to complain of SOB. This idiot didn't even bother to do a chest assessment on her!

By the time she got worried enough to go to the ER, she'd accumulated enough fluid in chest AND abdomen to require paracetisis AND thoracetesis. Eventually, a chest tube had to be inserted to deal with the fluid in the lung.

And that's just ONE story of several I could tell you about this incompetent jerk of a doctor!

Moral of the story: I'd be very leery of anyone with an aversion to germs or bodlily fluids going into healthcare. It's part of the job. Some get used to it. If you can't get used to it, I don't think it's the field for you!

LisaRN2B · Oct 31, 2003

Originally posted by skybirdrising
I am still a student in nursing and probably will slide over to become a Physicians Assistant eventually. What fears me most is dealing with bodily fluids. Is ALL nursing involved in puke, crap, piss and anything else I forgot to mention? What area is less lieky to deal with grossness and which area in the hospital is more prone to grossness. I've been nicknamed Mr. Clean all my life cause I am a 'clean freak'. Can't stand germs. Please direct me to where I need to go.

You must not be a parent yet, either. Just wait til you have kids...or borrow someone elses for a while. If that doesn't desensitize you to the "yuckies" nuttin' will.

My husband still tells the story about his ex-wife:

Their daughter puked on the carpet and she couldn't clean it up herself...had to call the carpet cleaner guy...OMG! It's no wonder he got custody of the kids after their divorce.

I would have to agree with the other posts here that question whether you have picked the wrong line of study for yourself. But good luck to you.