Poop Free Nursing Jobs in the Hospital?

Nurses General Nursing

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Okay, before anyone starts the insane spamming, please READ THE POST. This is not meant to demean or attack any nurses. I am an RN and I love nursing - and I respect everything that nurses do. I know that some people are also better at some things than others. This is meant to be a very respectful post simply asking for some help and advice, so please do not start attacking and saying that I don't "understand" what nursing is. Thank you in advance! :)

Here's the issue: I started a job right out of nursing school with a hospital. I stayed for a few months, but I literally used to want to cry every day that I went. I wasn't overwhelmed by the responsibility or the new things I needed to learn (I actually enjoyed that)...it was the "cleaning" part of our job description. I know it's part of nursing, and I certainly cleaned my patients quickly and extremely well, but not without gagging. I can't help it. I truly find it very disgusting cleaning someones watery feces off of their back, butt, and bed. Everytime I smelled that horrible smell I became sick to my stomach knowing what I was about to have to do. It controlled my life and I was so unhappy I quit.

Fast forward: I work in a primary care office. I love it! No poop, normal hours, etc. I also have developed a passion for family practice, and with so many physicians choosing to specialize instead of work in FP, I see how important NPs will be as more and more Americans are insured under current laws. I want to help fill that void. I could easily go to NP school now, but I feel NPs were developed to expand on their current clinical experience. While I love my job, I honestly don't learn much about medicine, it's mainly vitals and scheduling, etc. I feel to truly become a competent NP and provide high quality care to my patients, I need to work in a hospital environment for a few years so that I can manage my own patients and learn about their conditions and treatments. This of course is an issue considering my previous experience with this...so what can I do??

Any advice? I really need some help here, not 3-4 pages of insults about how I should just learn to love cleaning up poop. I will never love it, and I don't have to love it to be a good nurse. I do respect all of you that do, however, and I'm sure your patients do too! :)

I know a nurse who is a NP in a busy cardiology practice. I don't think she has had to deal with poop since in her days in CCU. She seems pretty happy. ;)

They really don't teach us in nursing school any way to clean poop.

I learned it on the job from our sassy, bossy, and amazing CNA. She basically ran the place and I was happy to let her because she taught me so much about the basics and helped me if she was available.

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I asked if you're delighting in it because many of these posts sound like they're gleefully sharing, "Nope! Can't escape poop there either!" in a mocking tone. I may be misinterpreting but I'm certainly not projecting.

Well, you were wrong. Not one ounce of delighting in anything negative towards the OP. I don't see anything wrong with her not wanting to work in an area where cleaning up poop is a constant. Just want to give her proper information. Lots of newbies think ICU is all about codes, machines, critical thinking, etc. It is all those things, but it is also cleaning up after patients who cannot get out of bed.

There was a student on here recently asking if she could refuse to clean up poop, and in her case, I told her NOPE! Not in nursing school, and that is an unrealistic expectation.

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Where there is people there is poop.

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Specializes in Med/surg, ER/ED,rehab ,nursing home.

My issue is with rotting flesh, and sometimes blood. I used vicks under my nose. It is hard to get a stink past that Vicks. One nurse double masked, with several dabs of Vicks on the inner mask. Since lighting a match to counter the smell, like some do at home after a potty BM, that is all I can suggest. Baby poop is not always milder smelling. Depends on what is wrong with the little one.

Does your own poop bother you any? A lot of times it is the food and the medication the patient is on. You will get to where you can tolerate it if you put your mind to it. If you have to step out of the room to vomit, then do so. Face your demons.

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Just gotta love all of us for posting 112 comments about poop and nursing! Woot! We can poop it out, can't we!

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Out smart the smell. Perhaps A menthol/camphor cream, such as Vick's Vapor Rub or newer product such as NOXO Odor Defense

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I have found that if I take myself out of my *self*, and think about the patient, then my little misery is nothing. I may not like the odor, but perhaps this patient has been defecating profusely due to a condition that has him in dire need of assistance. Key word: dire! YOU ARE THERE FOR HIM! To be a nurse is to SERVE. We serve at times when people need us. Like when a baby needs it's mommy to change it's diaper. It is out of love that the mother is able to attend to the baby's needs. And, to love means to think of the others' needs first.

Do I *love* my patients? Not in the romantic sense of the word!! By no means! But, I do think, when you are there, attending to your fellow human being, there is a quality that should (I repeat, should) be there, in which your concern for your patient goes beyond your own need for comfort. Do you think your patient really wants to poop and not be able to clean himself? Do you know the humiliation of being dependent, or of having had a BM that smells (like hemoccult +), and you have to have someone else remove it from your room? Those situations are very humbling, and the most we can do as nurses it be grateful to serve in the capacity we have chosen, in a manner that the patient is put to ease, and is allowed to feel blessed with your presence, instead of ashamed of what is beyond his control.

I think, perhaps, once you master the heart of nursing, you will become an incredible nurse, and the poop will not be an issue anymore.

Too, there *is* something to be said about those who have come from down in the trenches, who have "been there, done that" and can now tell the story. You are probably getting some valuable experiences that will mold the ability to make good, sound nursing judgments in the future. After all, it is very easy to distinguish the nurse who has had experience from the one who hasn't. (Think of the many, many ways we can describe fecal matter!! And, what does that say about the patient's condition?) So, try thinking about your patient's needs, and be glad you are not the one in the bed. At least, poop usually cleans up pretty quickly. Hope this helps. Good luck to you.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

NICU gets some pretty gross stuff from the older kids, smaller scale but still gross lol. If you want to do FP APN you are going to have to bite the bullet. I used to always think, what if that was me laying there? Sometimes you gotta do what you have to do!

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

One thing I'm glad I never had to deal with in my career is burns. I don't think I could hack the smell, the burn treatments and how much you have to hurt those poor souls. No, burn nursing is thankfully not on my resume.

And neither is OB. I think I could probably go head to head with Esme on how much I wouldn't want to be near a delivery room. I could write a short story about my OB rotation as a nursing student.

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I got through nursing school because I always asked a classmate to help me with the messes if I helped him/her in exchange - doing two clean ups with help was easier than one alone. Often my classmate could see my discomfort and would do most of the cleaning while I would talk to the patient, gather supplies, hold trashcan open, etc. I also always requested clinical sites where I assumed I would see the least poop (ambulatory vs acute for example).

I cannot and will not clean up poop - it's not just the smell, but the sight, the feel, EVERYTHING.

It seems all the poop free jobs require poop experience...can't get PACU without ICU, etc. If I can't find a PACU or similar job I suppose I will just go to NP school directly and do a residency if it isn't enough.

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I have found that if I take myself out of my *self*, and think about the patient, then my little misery is nothing. I may not like the odor, but perhaps this patient has been defecating profusely due to a condition that has him in dire need of assistance. Key word: dire! YOU ARE THERE FOR HIM! To be a nurse is to SERVE. We serve at times when people need us. Like when a baby needs it's mommy to change it's diaper. It is out of love that the mother is able to attend to the baby's needs. And, to love means to think of the others' needs first.

Do I *love* my patients? Not in the romantic sense of the word!! By no means! But, I do think, when you are there, attending to your fellow human being, there is a quality that should (I repeat, should) be there, in which your concern for your patient goes beyond your own need for comfort. Do you think your patient really wants to poop and not be able to clean himself? Do you know the humiliation of being dependent, or of having had a BM that smells (like hemoccult +), and you have to have someone else remove it from your room? Those situations are very humbling, and the most we can do as nurses it be grateful to serve in the capacity we have chosen, in a manner that the patient is put to ease, and is allowed to feel blessed with your presence, instead of ashamed of what is beyond his control.

I think, perhaps, once you master the heart of nursing, you will become an incredible nurse, and the poop will not be an issue anymore.

Too, there *is* something to be said about those who have come from down in the trenches, who have "been there, done that" and can now tell the story. You are probably getting some valuable experiences that will mold the ability to make good, sound nursing judgments in the future. After all, it is very easy to distinguish the nurse who has had experience from the one who hasn't. (Think of the many, many ways we can describe fecal matter!! And, what does that say about the patient's condition?) So, try thinking about your patient's needs, and be glad you are not the one in the bed. At least, poop usually cleans up pretty quickly. Hope this helps. Good luck to you.

Best post on this thread.

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The radiology suites of any hospital. . .this specialty is not completely free of fecal matter, but you'll deal with normal working hours and a very minimal amount of poop.

True, the explosions after a lower GI are generally more barium with just small amounts of poop mixed in.

I think I would LOVE Pacu - but I have yet to see a PACU job that didn't require either previous PACU experience or acute care experience. Seems like a pickle..

Shocking that the good jobs require you to get your hands dirty first.

Again to address the non-believers, there are PLENTY of direct care nursing careers that should reasonably expect to not encounter poop. I began listing them but erased it because most I believed wouldn't actually help OP with her intent to get the broad and in-depth knowledge she's looking for.

Sure there are some jobs that don't require poop handling (I wouldn't say PLENTY when you're talking direct care, but that's besides the point.) She wants the kind of experience that only comes with poop though. It's just not realistic to get one without the other. Because most of the poop free jobs aren't going to give the experience she wants or they require her to have that experience first.

Are you delighting in this?

I generally find being realistic more delightful than blowing sunshine up someone's butt. Can't speak for the poster though.

I disagree with the suggestion that Peds is a good area for someone who doesn't want to deal with poop. Total care kids tend to never leave pediatrics (have taken care of adults older than me in a pediatric hospital) and, when you get them, you're not only cleaning poop but you're dealing with a whole big mess of poop, period blood and pubic hair. Not to mention many of these patients have chronic constipation so you spend a lot of time TRYING to get them to poop and then when they finally do, it's an explosion. Baby poop may be benign and there may be parents at the bedside who will change them... but then again, there may not be.

I'll take old lady poo over giant teenage girl poo any day of the week. And who are these "parents at the bedside who will change them"? You're just as likely to see a leprechaun in peds... (Ok, maybe not QUITE as likely, but close...)

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