did i pick the wrong field? feel sick looking at cadavers

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2011

your first dead body is shocking.. if it didnt bother you at all, then i would second guess yourself in regards to becoming a nurse. but since it shakes you up a bit, it means you have some compassion. i think youll be a great nurse.

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2011

I haven't seen a dead body yet and I'll be starting my second year of nursing school. Many people in my class, including instructors, are squeamish about certain things. Some are in the process of working through that and trying to desensitize themselves by getting exposure to certain procedures over and over again. If you haven't done CNA work, I would at least get trained as one. That will give you a better idea if you are suited for nursing situations. I'd say that maybe you shouldn't do mortuary work : )

Pneumothorax, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2011

dead bodies (sliced up ones to boot) are disgusting. luckily, most of our patients and alive and kicking and giving us grief if they are feeling well enough.

I went to an autopsy and that skeeved me out hard, but never made me question my decision to go into nursing.

& when a patient does expire on the unit, they actually look quite peaceful ,like theyre sleeping.

mauramcd · Sep 2, 2011

thank you for your replies. i'm feeling much better about it now. i am feeling like this is just a hurdle i need to jump over. and the more I expose myself to material like this, the better i'll be. i used to be in business, and although some of the backstabbing was nauseating - it was nothing like this.

meltnpointofwax · Sep 4, 2011

i'm in my last semester of nursing school, and i work as a tech in a hospital. i've had to help nurses "bag and tag" a few bodies so far and have seen a lot of code blues on the days i float to the ICU. it's sad, but you get used to it. plus, there are SO many nursing specialties to pick from where you have a better chance of avoiding people passing. who knows, you may end up working in endoscopy helping with colonoscopies all day lol. don't give up :nurse:

Al.ginger · Sep 4, 2011

You are not gonna see cadavers in the nursing school. They are too expensive and reserved for doctors.

Dead bodies, not a cadaver, well...They are happening in the nursing (saaad). But dead bodies are different from cadavers. So, I hope that will help

Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

You are not gonna see cadavers in the nursing school. They are too expensive and reserved for doctors.
Dead bodies, not a cadaver, well...They are happening in the nursing (saaad). But dead bodies are different from cadavers. So, I hope that will help

I was wondering because all we got to disect in A&P was a cat and as a class a fetal pig. I would, however, like to see an autopsy.

anonymousstudent · Sep 4, 2011

I think liking the experience of seeing a dead body is not normal. I'd say disliking it is the normal experience. Seeing the dead is something that brings up a lot of issues you may have never had to encounter. The other aspect is that you probably dredged up other issues you had about how you feel bodies should be treated once they are dead, and the treatment of this one was disturbing to you. That's OK! (Not trying to get inside your head here, just guessing...)

I had to take human anatomy as a pre-req, and at my school we had human cadavers (about 10 of them). I really had to remove myself from the experience. I'm not becoming a nurse because I want to deal with dead bodies, and the ones I may have to deal with will not be anywhere close to the condition these were in. I read each tag carefully, learned about what they had died of, and remembered that each of these folks had WILLINGLY donated their bodies so that I could learn. That helped me a lot.

I took a lot from actually seeing the structures, I think it really helped my nursing coursework. GL to you, don't get too down about this. Like PP said, you'll probably never encounter a cadaver in nursing school.

ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

I was wondering because all we got to disect in A&P was a cat and as a class a fetal pig. I would, however, like to see an autopsy.

i was more upset about dissecting the cat than i would have been dissecting a cadaver! i feel bad because they actually have cat farms just for the purpose of raising them to be killed and dissected. at least humans choose to have their bodies donated to science..

plus my cat had kittens inside of it :eek: of course they give the cat lady the pregnant one.. :crying2:

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Sep 4, 2011

You are not gonna see cadavers in the nursing school. They are too expensive and reserved for doctors.
Dead bodies, not a cadaver, well...They are happening in the nursing (saaad). But dead bodies are different from cadavers. So, I hope that will help

Im no doctor but I had an entire semester of cadaver dissection. It was the single most informative class I had ever taken on anatomy. You just did what you had to do to get by it. Most of the people in my class simply convinced themselves they werent real people.

Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

Im no doctor but I had an entire semester of cadaver dissection. It was the single most informative class I had ever taken on anatomy. You just did what you had to do to get by it. Most of the people in my class simply convinced themselves they werent real people.

I'll bet that was an interesting class! We only got to do cats (and as a class a fetal pig). I'd love to watch an actual autopsy.