Scared of vomit

[FutureUndecided]

This is going to sound completely silly but its a problem for me. I want to be a nurse but I absolutely HATE vomit! I want to run screaming the other way when someone gets sick. I know this is a part of nursing and that I need to get over it if I want to succeed in this field. What I'm wondering is if any other nurse has this problem? And how they got over it? Of all the things I fear, puke is the worst! But I know that I want to be a nurse because my mom was one (she's been a CCU RN for 25 years) and I've seen how much she helps people, I enjoy taking care of people, the job has a lot of flexibility and good job security and I genuinely like working with people.

If anyone can help please let me know! My mom thinks that I will make a good nurse if I can get over this problem. Her advice was "figure out how to deal with it or get out of the field. It happens sometimes and its disgusting but you can't abandon a patient even if you don't like it."

I know I need to get over it. Any ideas about how?

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

OK, the truth is that you might have to deal with vomit -- once.

After that, you'll be giving a medication to stop it or inserting an NG tube to stop it, or otherwise doing something to get it to stop, rather than just having to clean it up.

In other words, look at it this way -- there are those who vomit, those who have to clean it up, and those who treat the cause so that the patient doesn't have to suffer through more vomiting.

Anyone can do the first two things for the patient, but only the nurse can do the third, which is to fix the problem. If you really hate vomit that much, you'll want to be the one who can fix the problem.

Hope that helps.

[patwil73]

Try increasing your party life or attend some more college parties - a few of those and you'll be over vomit pretty quickly

Seriously though - try figuring out specifically what about vomit you dislike: is it the sight (cover it), the smell (have vapor rub to apply under your nose), the sound (medicate quickly). Identifying the root cause of the visceral reaction often allows us to overcome that reaction since we are no longer reacting emotionally to something but rather logically (I have a task to do because you did this, etc)

That said, I don't like vomit - hands down my least favorite (especially as I am always thinking "oh my god, dissection - I need help here"). You get over it, repetition makes us handle just about anything.

Hope this helps

Pat

[Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

No need eliminating a whole field that you're interested in over a little vomit.

I was never a fan of code browns. Now I don't think twice about it.

I still get the gags at times when performing oral care on a trach patient and that patient hasn't had it done in a long time, despite documentation. That would not be reason enough to leave.

You'll get over it. Not all patients vomit everyday, make zofran your friend!

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

Seems for each nurse there's one bodily fluid that's a special challenge to deal with. I share your repulsion for vomit. Took me a while to notice that when I was at work and helping a patient who is feeling ill, trying to figure out why, see if their pills came up along with their lunch and get meds or whatever to help them, I am so involved that I feel pretty removed from the unpleasantness of the actual vomit. I can't explain it but was really glad to realize that I react that way.(Now if I come across someone in public, or even a friend or family member who is getting sick I'm don't feel that separation. Especially when they're making all those gag-gy, choky noises- I'll be about dry-heaving along with them.)