Really want to be a nurse but....I may have a problem :(

[augajaro]

I have finished all of my prereq's and was denied the first time around for clinicals (Now waiting on round two).

Over the summer my step son fell and had a pretty good gash on his knee. I took him into after hours and before the doc started sewing him up he asked me if I wanted to leave the room. I told him no and that I wanted to watch (Never thought I had a problem with blood and such). Well, after he started to sew him up I started to feel a little weird. Light-headed, nauseous, my hearing started to go. I was about to pass out! I had to go sit down. There were 10 stitched in all with 3 on the inside. This was totally an involuntary action. Has anyone had this happen before? Will I be able to get over it so I can become a nurse? I'm so nervous that this will prevent me from doing what I really want to do

[BBRANRN2013, ASN, RN]

My son fell and had to get a couple staples in his head and when we were at the ER I got a little sick to my stomach! I believe that it may just be because it's your kid. Have no problem seeing that stuff when I'm in clinicals, but it really bugged me seeing my kid bleeding and in pain. I hope u can pursue your dreams as I am!!!!

[SunshineDaisy, ASN, RN]

I agree with the pp. It may have happened just because it was your child!

[taylorxteddy]

I think you are perfectly fine! My fiance gets all nauseous and upset whenever I get a papercut, but he is in nursing school and for clinicals, watched a surgeon saw into a man's chest cavity (burning flesh and all, sorry for the graphic nature), and was totally fine. My guess is that you're just more prone to be upset when it's someone you care about in pain.

[dkmamato3]

I am sure you will be fine...it is always hard to see our own little ones get hurt. Good luck with school.

[Angsturdy]

I'm a mom myself and do the same exact thing when my boys get hurt but I never get that way if it's anyone else! Lol. Strange how we react as mothers when our kiddos get hurt. I'm sure you will be ok. My dad works for mediflight and sees all sorts of awful things that he's been totally desensitized to now. Don't worry, you will get over it.

[SnMrsSmiley]

my issue is quite different and a little funny.

When watching videos on wound care for pre lab work I watched a nurse clean a DEEP pressure ulcer.... oh yes I had to leave the room and vomit twice. In clinical however it doesnt affect me at all. I think it is because when your patient is in pain and youa re watching or doing a nasty procedure your concern lies mostly with getting it done and making sure your patient is comfortable again asap. I find that my sympathy to my pt outweighs the yucky stuff and Im able to block it out to get it done.

You will be able to do this, you might want to expose yourself early to things you arent used to seeing though. It will help. After my bad episode with that video I made myself google some of the nastiest things I could think of and forced myself to look at it, read about it etc to desensitize myself to it.

[anurseatlast]

In nursing school, they paired us to go in and watch surgery. My partner was so excited because she wanted to be a surgical nurse and this would be her first procedure. She passed out half way through. She was devastated and thought she would not be able to do her dream job. After graduation, she did get a surgery job and doesn't have a problem.

Don't let your experience stop you. It will be different when you are a nurse - you will be surprised what you can get used to. Nurses even talk about gross stuff while eating. You have to remember not to do that with non-nurse friends - they don't appreciate it!

[Leafhouse]

I fainted once my first semester during clinical during a dressing change. I was more embarrassed than worried if this would effect my ability to be a nurse. I nearly fainted twice during my L&D rotation (once during a lady partsl birth and once during a C section). I had absolutely no desire to work in L&D so I wasn't too concerned at that time either. During my senior preceptorship, I had 2 more near fainting episodes which for my own well being and my patients well being I was sent home for. That's when I got worried because it had nothing to do with blood but pure stress. I don't have much advice to give...just a wee bit of comfort knowing you are not alone out there. I recently graduated and am looking for a job hoping that I'm not known as the fainting RN once I get hired.

[sarany]

I am the same way! I get very light headed when it comes to blood so this makes me very nervous. However, the kind of nursing I want to do is psychiatric nursing which doesn't really involve your every day hospital nurse duties. Obviously I still have to go through the training though, but I was wondering... what exactly do you do in clinical's? Is it different if you are placed in a nursing home compared to a hospital?

[Cortisol]

First, I don't have kids, but I get nervous enough when my dog must have anything done. I can only imagine how stressful it would be when a child is sick/injured! I definitely think that the stress of an accidental injury happening to your step son probably increased your adrenaline and made you feel funky.

Second, I have had a great deal of clinical experience while studying/working in the medical field in Mexico and have seen many interesting medical situations. There were two instances where I nearly fainted. One was while assisting with the removal of a mole and the other was during an exploratory abdominal surgery. I had no problem with either procedure and had seen both of those procedures done before. There really was no reason for that to happen!

Please don't let this one incident think that you are not meant to be a nurse! If you still have doubts, I would recommend shadowing a few nurses and/or becoming a CNA (preferably at a hospital). The added benefit to shadowing or becoming a CNA is that it will definitely look good on your nursing school application too!

[Iridescent Orchid, CNA, LPN]

I believe you'll be just fine, like others have said, it may be dealing with the fact that it was your son being stitched. Even if you are a little nauseous in general by these things, I've read many stories where students have passed out in clinicals due to something they saw or had to proceed in doing. The end of the story, I always hear they were able to overcome it all after experiencing it! Best of luck to you! If nursing is where your heart is, never give up. I feel like we can overcome anything as long as we have the strength and the passion for it. :)