I'm getting ready to go into a BSN program in the fall of '04, and am having some second thoughts. I had originally planned to become an RT (radiology tech), but switched to RN because I would ultimately like to be a Physician's Assistant or Nurse Practitioner, and the BSN seems like a much better route.
What I'm wondering is, are there areas of nursing I can get into that are relatively "clean"? I'm not squeamish in the sense that I pass out easily, nor would I be incapacitated by death issues. I am compassionate and think in many ways I would enjoy the "helping people" aspect of nursing. However, I am a little concerned about how happy I would be constantly dealing with feces, urine, severe injuries and so forth. While I am a pretty compassionate person, I'm also not sure about entering a career where I had to deal with that every day.
I guess my question is, are there specialized flavors of nursing that I can get into where I would have the option of dealing with a somewhat cleaner working environment? Or is that sort of thing so unavoidable in nursing that I need to consider another career path altogether? I keep hearing that nursing is very diverse and there are a lot of different ways you can go, so I'm hoping this I can find a role in which I would be happy.
I have to tell you Greg, that it all seems to depend on the week. Seriously. One week work will be wonderful - the aids or PCT's will be there to answer every call bell and clean up all the crap, and the next week you will be wearing hip waders. But if your ultimate goal is to move on to the next step, then you can probably handle it for that long.
I don't know that there is a standard answer to your question. There are many areas in nursing where the frequency of exposure to gross stuff is less, but typically ou have to get some experience first. In general I would say that as a staff nurse there are some days that are grosser than others. Although I know that the bloodborne diseases require caution, I always felt better dealing with blood that vomit or feces because the smell didn't make me gag. I learned to keep Halls mentholyptis cough drops in my pocket. I could overcome any smell and gag response with the strong menthol smell-although several of my coworkers would ask if I was ever going to get over my cold.
It kind of depends on the support of nursing assistants as to how many excrements you deal with. I spent many days on med surg and telemetry when my patients were all continent and just required assistance to the BR. I also have worked with many nursing assistants who have cleaned up my incontinent patients unaided. In ICU as a staff nurse I deal with something gross a few times a day. Even now, as a manager I still deal with it every few days. If I see something happening I'm there to help out so...it could be gross.
My husband questioned if he could deal with the gross stuff when he started nursing school and clinical. The first day he said he didn't think he could handle it. Then, the dog got sick at home and he cleaned diarrhea stool several times. He told me about it when I got home and said it was really gross, but he felt bad because the dog looked so sick and ashamed. He said he focused more on worry about the dog and less about the task and realized that nursing couldn't be worse. A year later he tells me-the gross stuff isn't so bad after all and it really isn't constant all day. Maybe a cuple times a day or not at all on some days.
If you are thinking of PA don't go to nursing school. I would only do that for nurse practitioner.
By the way-when I was in nursing school I got sick every day at my part time job-working at McDonalds. The stale smell of old grease when we sloped the floor at closing and cleaning the milkshake machine was gross. I'd rather be a nurse.
the value of a nurse should not be judged on whether they are willing to pick up a bedpan. the higher up the ladder the more able you are to delegate the dirty work. my last nurse manager did not do any dirty work and i never lost respect for her. in fact, i had more respect for her because she put her energies to managing the floor and speaking up for us to adminis.
someone made a comment about a np is only respectful if they are willing to clean up after a patient. that's bs. in fact s/he should be more respected to delegate the work elsewhere. my kid's pediatrician would never clean up a patient and i never lost respect for her. how come nurses are expected to do dirty work? maybe it is time for them to delegate it and get a little more respect.
It is a shame so many have to cop this attitude just because you don't want to clean **** and give bed baths as part of your job. I mean after all what else could you do with a 4 year degree from a university? Personally, I had to clean a lot of poop and pee to reach my long term professional goals . So I have been there and done that, however, I don't know of any other college educated profession that has to do that type of menial work as their job description. I also realize it is only part of some RNs job description, but my point is, when is nursing going to be truly recognized as a college educated profession where that kind of assignment wont be part of your job requirement? Doing bedside nursing can be very rewarding, however, the nurses are given a disproportionate amount of responsibility and work load for what they are paid in general. I can't tell you how many RTs, Ulta sound techs, ect have told me they would never do the stuff we nurses have to do for an extra dollar or two. And you know what it does not add up, but nurses have been taught from day one to suck it up and be the ultimate pt. advocate. No matter how much shit they dumb on you. This attitude has kept nursing down and will continue too as long as we let it. We need more young people who are bright and want to be treated like college educated professionals as opposed to vo-tech workers. Which means doing nurses aid work should not be expected. We need to start seeing ourselves as professionals just like the PTs, pharm. Ds, OTs, ect.
Well the majority, of course, don't but they were so short-staffed all around (hence the reason i wound up there too).
BUT we do have one PA who says "if it needs done, i'm able, i can help, and i notice in that people i've helped are willing to help me a lot in return". Someone raised him right!!!
micu rn - hooray for your comment. how many people are willing to spend thousands of dollars to clean up poop. in fact it is just the opposite. not many i dare say. and i dare say neither should nurses. leave the clean up to the cna/pct, housekeeping etc.
want to be a patient advocate? use your energies in advocating and not cleaning.
micu rn - hooray for your comment. how many people are willing to spend thousands of dollars to clean up poop. in fact it is just the opposite. not many i dare say. and i dare say neither should nurses. leave the clean up to the cna/pct, housekeeping etc.
want to be a patient advocate? use your energies in advocating and not cleaning.
As an Aussie we get to do everything - in the acute care hospitals the only nurses aides we have as not allowed to touch patients our Enrolled Nurses would strike en mass if we decided to leave all the poop to them. WE do not have PA's or respiratory techs or any other or the seemingly endless extras that you talk about - we do it all - the ultimate multi skilled personnel.
Are we respected? We sure are but because we demand it ourselves for what we are not because we occasionally have to clean up. I suppose this is a cultural thing too we tend as a people to be the "roll up your sleeves and get the job done and forget the fancy letters behind your name" type of people. I even have had MD's help me turn patients:eek:
Nursing might be the only profession where we get excited about our patients pooping, peeing and doing other disgusting things. As for how often it happens; usually multiple times, every shift for me. And if they aren't pooping how often do we give then medicine to make them poop...a lot. In my opinion nursing encompasses the entire patient, not just the clean parts.
As for cleaning it up, I would never ask my aide to do something I am not willing to do. If I am busy, yes they can do it. However if I am sitting down you better believe I am at least going to be in there helping. Why? Because it is my patient and I am the nurse. My aides know I will help them and they respect me more for it.
Once you are in nursing school and completing your clinicals not only will you be doing "gross" stuff but staff nurses will find you so you can "get more expereince". Either you will get used to it and learn to deal with it or you will change professions.
P.S: The medical profession is not clean, I don't care what position you are in...
Work in cath lab, the pts are always draped, sedated, and not allowed to have bodily functions during procedures....but that doesn't always discourge them.
Pretzlgl
188 Posts
I have to tell you Greg, that it all seems to depend on the week. Seriously. One week work will be wonderful - the aids or PCT's will be there to answer every call bell and clean up all the crap, and the next week you will be wearing hip waders. But if your ultimate goal is to move on to the next step, then you can probably handle it for that long.