I hate that I'm like this, I've had no other big fears thus far in nursing school. All the other 'gross stuff' hasn't made me flinch even a small amount. But foleys.
Oh god, foleys. I've never seen one inserted before, but just thinking about it makes me cringe and get sick at my stomach. Have any of you had this same fear but then overcame it? Just the thought of inserting something like that into...ugh even now I'm nauseous. It's just so strange that I'm so ok with basically everything else.
Any help or encouragement would really, really be appreciated.
that's a good video, but they don't do the procedure on a real live person. i guess that would be hard to get video of. the main problem as i see it as the urethral opening on those mannikins look nothing like a normal opening on a member. it appears much larger on the mannikin than in real life. i guess that's supposed to make it easier to learn, but i'm relatively sure it isn't like that on a normal guy. won't that make the first time with a real person much more difficult?
thanks for the encouragement everyone. i guess the more i hear about it the better i will feel.
A good idea would be to go through the procedure many times when you are at home or in a lab. When I entered into nursing school we received a big bag of supplies which one was a foley catheter. I practiced in the lab alot to feel comfortable and at home (not on a person). I went through the motions without actually doing the procedure. This helped me to get down the sterile technique so I would not be so nervous in front of the patient. Just relax and you can do it. Good luck!!!
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
You're afraid of putting a foley into a male patient? What are you afraid of? Touching a member? They're the easiest to do! Never miss. Female caths are hardest because 50% of the time (maybe more) you can't find the meatus!
I just put my first one into a patient last week at clinicals. The only way I'd it up to that point was on a mannequin. The patient was in labor, had just had her epidural put in, so we were good. I have to say, that's the only one I've done, but it was way different than the mannequin. lol But I got it on the first try. I was on cloud nine. It's funny the things that tickle us nursing students.
Good luck. You'll be fine. Just mentally go over the steps in your mind. I "talked" myself through it step by step.
You're afraid of putting a foley into a male patient? What are you afraid of? Touching a member? They're the easiest to do! Never miss. Female caths are hardest because 50% of the time (maybe more) you can't find the meatus!
I'm not a bit afraid of touching a member. It would, to say the least, not be the first time by a long shot.
What I'm really afraid of is the disparity between how big the hole is in the mannikin, and how big the opening is on a real live person. It seems to be quite different. Is that correct or not?
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
i'm not a bit afraid of touching a member. it would, to say the least, not be the first time by a long shot.
what i'm really afraid of is the disparity between how big the hole is in the mannikin, and how big the opening is on a real live person. it seems to be quite different. is that correct or not?
you need to recognizing that there is a orifice there. the tissue will stretch to accommodate the catheter.
I did my first two last week in OB. Both women had epidurals, so it made it so much easier, because I did not have to stress out over hurting them. It really was much better than lab, simply because I just did it instead of fumbling with a checklist of fifty steps on how to do it. I just concentrated on maintaining sterility and everything went fine.
Specializes in ER, NICU,Postpartum,Metabolic nursing..
Like most things in life, the anticipation of something we think of as unpleasant is much worse than the actual thing we fear! While you do need to prepare, and practice the set-up and technical points, try not to over-think the procedure. Also, don't be afraid of hurting the patient. Of course, you will be gentle and move as quickly as you are able. Remember what I said about anticipation. The patient experiences this as well. They are dreading the insertion of the catheter as much as you dread inserting it! As someone who has placed many catheters in my 32 years as a nurse, and has had several placed into my own bladder as a patient, I can assure you that rarely does it actually hurt. There is pressure, but there is also relief. When you think about it, a very full bladder is very uncomfortable. While it is annoying to have an indwelling catheter, most patients tolerate it very well.
Like most things in life, the anticipation of something we think of as unpleasant is much worse than the actual thing we fear! While you do need to prepare, and practice the set-up and technical points, try not to over-think the procedure. Also, don't be afraid of hurting the patient. Of course, you will be gentle and move as quickly as you are able. Remember what I said about anticipation. The patient experiences this as well. They are dreading the insertion of the catheter as much as you dread inserting it! As someone who has placed many catheters in my 32 years as a nurse, and has had several placed into my own bladder as a patient, I can assure you that rarely does it actually hurt. There is pressure, but there is also relief. When you think about it, a very full bladder is very uncomfortable. While it is annoying to have an indwelling catheter, most patients tolerate it very well.
Thank you. This does give me some perspective. I had't thought before how many people are probably already quite uncomfortable/in pain when you are ordered to do a cath, so maybe they won't even really focus so much on it.
I started my first cath this past Tuesday during OB clinicals. The patient was about to have an emergency c-section and my professor grabbed me to go insert it. Talk about being nervous. Being a male and doing this to a woman is bad enough, but she was in terrible pain and her husband was standing over my shoulder watching me go through the procedure. I hit the right hole first attempt but never got urine, so my professor grabbed another kit and I gave it another shot. Second time I struck gold and then helped rush her off to the OR where I got to witness the c-section.
Daytonite, BSN, RN
1 Article; 14,604 Posts
there are videos that you can watch of foley insertions on post #20 of this sticky thread: https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/any-good-iv-127657.html - any good iv therapy or nursing procedure web sites