"Clean" areas of nursing? Need advice.

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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.

Thanks in advance,

Greg

Specializes in CCU (Coronary Care); Clinical Research.

If I were you, I would shadow an RN in a couple of different settings that you might be interested in. By doing this, you can make your own opinions on if it is a job that you might be interested in doing. As others have mentioned, it does vary by the day (even by the hour :) ). You do get desensitized to it, though some things will still get you every time. While it may suck to you you cleaning it up, just remember how awful it must be for the patient (which is way worse that how bad it is for you). Anyway, good luck in your decision.

If you are in the health-care field, you will have to deal some some of the gross stuff. The exception lies with people in the ivory towers of adminstration, who do nothing but screw things up for the rest of us, and line their pockets with money taken from pt care and nursing salaries.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

NO aides employed where I work...

so GUESS who cleans up vomit, blood, pee, poop and amniotic fluid spills??? guess who changes those NASTAY linens after a bloody delivery?

****hint: it ain't housekeeping.(wink)

and there are NO LPNs employed on the floor, either, not that "grunt" work should relegate soley to them, either.

well if you guessed RN's (BSN notwithstanding) DING DING DING DING...you GOT IT!

It's what hospital nurses DO.....so you have to DEAL with it.

If you don't want to, or cannot, your choices will be limited, but there will be a place for you. Good luck. But expect to be elbow-deep in poop, sputum, blood, feces, and ever manner of human fluids/wastes while in nursing school. THAT you WILL be doing. So be prepared.

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I cleaned up poop once last week. I was walking past a room and the CNA called to me who was in the room taking vital signs. She needed help turning and repositioning. As we were doing so we noticed the patient had the gift of excrement. Now as a professional degreed person was I to say "let me find someone to delegate this to, because it is menial work that doesn't utilize my degree to it's fullest and I am a professional". Yeah right. That aide would have slung some poop right in my face. LOL

But that was the only time I cleaned up poop last week. I think that's about average for me.

Specializes in NICU.
Originally posted by tonchitoRN

...someone made a comment about a np is only respectful if they are willing to clean up after a patient.

Who said that?

Specializes in NICU.

On another note, why do I get the feeling that some of these people going into nursing who don't want to get their hands dirty, so to speak, are going to be the same people who end up in administration- the DON who sees you sitting for the first time all night and then says things like, "But you don't need more staff! You're sitting!"...?

:D

Not a comment for anyone in particular, just a thought.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

could be NICU...

I KNOW I work with several of those types....

nothing like having to do the scut work for a while to give one an appreciation for what others in his/her charge put up with day by day.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

I'll say this: as a nurse's aide, I have tons of respect for the nurses on that floor because they do pitch in and do anything that their pt. needs, whether that's helping to make a total bed with the pt. in it, cleaning up someone that didn't quite make it to the bathroom, etc. Rarely have any of them come up to me (except that one i'm having issues with) and say "you need to take Mr. X to the bathroom", they typically do it themselves, but usually 2 in their group at the same time have to go (of course). I'll be the same kind of nurse, this time next year. I refuse to pawn off something "dirty" onto a NA if i can take care of it myself. It's ultimately my job to care for that pt.

Originally posted by NICU_Nurse

On another note, why do I get the feeling that some of these people going into nursing who don't want to get their hands dirty, so to speak, are going to be the same people who end up in administration- the DON who sees you sitting for the first time all night and then says things like, "But you don't need more staff! You're sitting!"...?

:D

Not a comment for anyone in particular, just a thought.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Originally posted by NICU_Nurse

On another note, why do I get the feeling that some of these people going into nursing who don't want to get their hands dirty, so to speak, are going to be the same people who end up in administration- the DON who sees you sitting for the first time all night and then says things like, "But you don't need more staff! You're sitting!"...?

:D

Not a comment for anyone in particular, just a thought.

Kinda wondered the same thing :D

for a long time I have debated on whether to go into nursing. I can handle the books the problem has been the job itself. My issue has been more about dealing with injured bleeding people than cleaning up after others. I can not even watch Tv with a heavily bleeding person, I have tried to make myself but it has I have been defeated. Reading what nurses deal with has reaffirmed I need to go elsewhere. Many resorting to nursing it is because they need job security, which is not a bad thing but it also takes you to be about the patient like most of you. It seems going into nursing in a different mind set could be the course of your fast exit from the profession.

I wonder could that be a cause for shortage?

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I believe ANYONE thinking of going into nursing should SHADOW A NURSE for a while...

or become an aide/cna.

it will give you a VERY clear perspective and help you decide for yourself if it's for you......

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