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Discussion

Scared... insight needed.

Hey everyone! Everything is all set for me to start my 4 year BSN program this fall. I've always wanted to be in the medical field and now that I'm getting closer to fulfilling my dream I'm starting to worry. I watch this show on the Discovery Channel called Trauma: Life in the ER and, as you may know, they show some pretty graphic stuff. It doesn't bother me too much on TV, but I really don't know how I'm going to react seeing that stuff RIGHT in front of me. I'm going to Simmons in Boston and there they start clinicals during the sophomore year. I know clinicals are going meant to teach you things and I am very confident in my schools nursing program, but I just don't know if I'll freeze up, cry, or run away screaming when I see something like that. I'm starting to question my decision to become a nurse before I've even started! It seems pretty rediculous to me, but I'm just scared. I tend to run away from things I'm scared of, but this can't be one of them. I've put so much time and money into getting ready and paying for school. Does anyone have any advice or insight to offer? Thanks.

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  • Experts

My advice is to get a CNA certificate and get a job in a long term care facility or a hospital. You will be exposed to some of the things a nurse is exposed to and you can gauge your ability to cope. Meanwhile, take it one day at a time and don't stress yourself out over things you haven't encountered.

each time gets easier.

once you are in a situation your knowledge and heart kicks in. you know what to do and how to feel. things may make you feel sick or upset, but you look at it from a different view when your in the job. your there to help people. its so much different to tv trust me.

Well, don't scare yourself before you even start! I just finished my first semester of Med-Surg and we saw a LOT of stuff...i did pass out at the first abscess I saw lanced (it was at least 4.5" across) in the beginning of the semester, but as I progressed I saw stage 4 foot ulcers without even blinking an eye (and a really wild abdominal wound in there too).

You can do it. This is what I learned: never go to clinical without eating (I was bummed to discover that coffee doesn't count), get some sleep before you go (more than an hour--you don't want to pass meds while half-asleep) and ask some kind nurse what the procedure you are so eager to observe really entails...it matters!

My terrific instructor was a nurse in the Navy, and she couldn't stand the spongy foam in the abductor pillows they use after hip replacement surgery. She could look at ANY wound, anything. FOAM! Isn't that funny? Just goes to show we all have that one thing that just "gets" us.

And no, abscesses don't bother me anymore!

Good luck!!

With a lot of people, if it doesn't bother you on TV...it won't bother you in person. But the only way to find out is to go see it up front.

Well, if you see anything like they show on "Trauma" in clinicals you will be seeing more than I have so far. Remember, unless you are working in an ER what you get to see has already been patched up a lot before it gets to the floor between surgery and ICU. The things you see on the floor like abscesses and decubitus ulcers (bedsores) aren't that bad once you get used to them. Smells may be the most bothersome, so carry some strong mints or Vicks to put under your nose (if you are wearing a mask) to help with olfactory overload. I think you have a strong desire to succeed in this field and you will do fine!

The most gruesome stuff I've seen was when I did my internship in the OR. But I LOVED every minute of it! The more gruesome, the better!

Well, if you see anything like they show on "Trauma" in clinicals you will be seeing more than I have so far. Remember, unless you are working in an ER what you get to see has already been patched up a lot before it gets to the floor between surgery and ICU. The things you see on the floor like abscesses and decubitus ulcers (bedsores) aren't that bad once you get used to them. Smells may be the most bothersome, so carry some strong mints or Vicks to put under your nose (if you are wearing a mask) to help with olfactory overload. I think you have a strong desire to succeed in this field and you will do fine!

Oh yes! You are so right. Our whole clinical group was a bunch of mint gum freaks! Works really well. :yeah:

  • Experts

you have to understand that for tv they need to make things as dramatic as possible or people will not watch these programs. i have been a nurse for 30+ years and worked med/surg and some icu. i was a supervisor and manager which meant that when something horrible happened i had to physically be where the action was going on. i was trying to think of the worst stuff i've seen over the years that could even hold a candle to what trauma: life in the er shows and i could only come up with 2 things. one was when i was a new grad and doing a one day rotation in the or. a gunshot wound to the head came in and the surgeon wanted me to see it because he said it was rare that they ever had something like that. i got nauseated when i saw the little pieces of brain tissue lying around the person's head. the second time was when i was a supervisor and needed to check on the status of, you guessed it, another gunshot wound to the head of someone in our icu. the minute i looked in on him and saw those same little pieces of brain tissue on his pillow i got nauseated. lesson: stop looking at gunshot wounds to the head. those kinds of patients end up at level i trauma centers and not all hospitals are level i trauma centers. and, they don't let just any nurse work in level i trauma with those patients either. i have heard other nurses tell stories about what they saw, but nothing that could match an entire season of tv footage.

most of my career involved carrying out doctor's orders, suctioning trachs, dressing various kinds of wounds, starting ivs, helping people to the bathroom, getting patients ready for the or or x-ray, or listening to confused patients yelling for their mothers all night long. how glamorous is that? you won't see trauma: life in the er putting that kind of stuff on their tv program because it is not exciting or holds a viewers interest. trust me, most of nursing is pretty mundane and, in its own way, stressful enough. the "gore" factor just isn't there. if you want to see gore and drama keep watching your tv programs. you might want to write to the producers of trauma: life in the er and ask them how many hours of footage they actually film and over what period of time to come up with the hour program you, the viewer, actually watch. i have heard it takes months and months.

You won't know how you'll react until it happens. Focus on breathing slow and deep in and out and repeat to yourself to focus on the patient. This is what kept me upright and conscious while observing a birth (which I went into thinking "oh, piece of cake, this will be interesting". Then the head started to show and the world went spinning. Whew!)

I believe that if you have no experience in a hospital setting and dealing with ill people it can ONLY be a scary thing. If you were not scared, then I would be worried. Having some fear is only normal. I think that it can be a benefit to be scared to some extent-keeps you on your toes. I would not want an over confident nurse working with me for sure. I think that's were some big mistakes can be made-when some one is over confident. Just take your time and don't worry I am sure you will do fine:up:

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