Should I head for the hills???

SunnyAndrsn · Sep 26, 2009

geeze everybody, relax! Did you GET that the OP is trying to figure out of nursing is for her?

OP: It seriously does not sound like you want to be a nurse, and I'm curious, why did you consider nursing in the first place? And what did you think nurses did? You say you can't handle the body fluids/wounds/incontinence/smells...and you don't like paperwork. Well, that pretty much sums up what we do.

In med/surg, I'm fortunate enough to have mainly ambulatory pts, although we get transfers from the nursing homes for acute conditions so those pts. usually need more assistance. Surgical pts, of course have wounds...which you said you don't like...

I don't see a lot of puss or blood in LTC, so not sure where you are working. As a nurse, I rarely do any toileting, but I do dressing changes and wound assessments on surgical pts. on our subacute side, as well as on pressure sores, ulcers, etc. We use wound vacs, have had burn pts, and have complicated wounds like fistulas...I honestly don't really find any of it gross.

We also do G-tube cares, trach cares, etc. So if spit/sputum/ stuff like that grosses you out, I can't think of a lot of bedside nursing that wouldn't.

My extent of pooh issues usually involve giving an enema or a suppository, or else applying 'rhoid cream.

Management = paperwork.

What is it about health care that you ever found appealing? The ideas about PT/OT may be more appealing to you, but I'll warn you, after my surgery, I was a HUGE whiner with PT. I'm sure I'm not the first or last pt. who whines.

Good luck finding another job, you sound miserable!

SunnyAndrsn · Sep 26, 2009

I'm a pre-nursing student - I'm not getting into nursing to wipe up poop and I doubt I will wake up one day in the morning wanting to do it - I want to help people, have a good job that I like, and feel like I am actually doing something useful in the world and making people feel better when they are in a bad situation. I want to work in ICU. I don't have a weak stomach, but can anyone honestly say that there is more to the job than what the OP described? I don't have any prior experience in the medical/health field - I work in retail currently. Any opinions?

Typical ICU pts. require total care, including frequent repositioning, toileting, bathing, etc. What is appealing about ICU? What do you see yourself doing?

You will be doing frequent assessments on your pt, giving them medications, and the total cares described above. You'll be keeping track of their input/output, and yeah that includes urine. When someone is in ICU, they typically require TOTALl CARE, and that's the job of the nurse. The bigger picture is that you are there for someone during their most vulverable time, for their family members, and it's a huge responsibility.

I rarely see pus, blood, or poo in my job in LTC. I may have to collect a stool sample or check it for blood on occasion...I do occassionally see urine, as I insert catheters. I take care of pts. who have feeding tubes, I change dressings to pressure ulcers, and assess those wounds for healing/signs&symptoms of infection. I give a lot of medications, take a lot of vitals, and do a lot of charting/paperwork. In nursing, if it's not documented, it's note done. Thus all the paperwork. I updated MDs to the pt's change of condition, I monitor pain, and in general take care of these people.

Any questions?

southern rn · Sep 26, 2009

Oh now everybody stop being so, well angelic. OP, you made me snort my coke laughing. Hey it's all true. That part does so suck and I gotta say those of you who pretend, seriously? ROFLMAO.
Don't know what to tell you OP, but you are not a horrible person, you are quite honest and normal.

You might as well laugh;we have had a run on these types of posts lately and I think if I don't laugh about it I will have to stop reading allnurses alltogether. :confused:

sbyramRN · Sep 26, 2009

Well, I chose my job in the pediatric ER for similar reasons. I realized in nursing school that there was a lot I couldn't stomach about the older patients. I am very happy with my choice of pediatric ER. I don't have to change anyone or deal with certain things you need to do with the elderly/obese/wound infected/bed sore/flaking skin population

allnurses Guide · Sep 26, 2009

No need to feel sorry for any of my patients. I give care where care is needed. AND do it with a smiling face! No one of my patients has ever been lacking or felt they were a nuisance or less than. And if I am to the point where I am pooping myself or a diaper yet still a/o enough to tell the CNA "YOU NEED TO WIPE ME" then god please take me out of my misery.
I don't need negative comments, I simply asked for advice and for someone to help me decide a better path. Thought I could come here and be honest about the situation I am in.

Many patients cannot move well and can still talk. Some cannot move, can talk, and don't want God to take them out of their misery.

You don't need negative comments. . . why? Because yours was so positive? Nurses (mostly) care for people when they're down. They empathize with them. So when you go on and on making judgements and saying people are icky, nasty, disgusting, lazy, etc, they take it a little personally. Yeah, you could be a tech of some kind, but if you're around sick people in any capacity there's the possibility of getting puked on, having somebody cough up stuff, etc. It is good that you found out early on this wasn't going to be for you.

LadyK,RN · Sep 26, 2009

To be fair to the OP, most healthy people encounter nurses at their doctors office for routine care and are not exposed to the puss, blood, poop, puke, etc. Hospital bedside nursing is a whole different experience and I think many are not prepared for it.

I am a new grad (3rd healthcare career). I worked in healthcare administration in an outpatient medical field for years. Even though I worked in the clinic for 11 years, directly with patients, I experience aspects of patient care that are less than desirable and that are frankly gross. However, my desire to help people get better and improve their health outweighs my disgust for some of the tasks. (e.g. changing the infected wound dressing of a patient the other night...the smell was horrible and the patient has generally poor hygiene or the other pt to whom we game a kayexalate enema, who subsequently pooped all over her bed rather than requesting a bedpan. And yes, I the RN, helped my tech/CNA clean her, change the bed, etc. and took care to ensure that there was no feces on her foley catheter to prevent a UTI waiting to happen.)

Bottom line - OP you have to decide what is best for you. You should not be blasted for realizing that pt care is not what you imagined. You may like the aspects of outpatient nursing, but know that you have to pay your dues as a hospital bedside nurse first AND that you may still encounter the puss, blood, etc albeit less often.

I will say that from your post it sounds like bedside nursing is not for you and there are many ways that you can assist people outside of nursing. Just be sure to be true to yourself and not enter the field just for the money, flexibility, etc. As you know, nursing is hard work. You will be miserable working that hard if you hate what you are doing.

Good luck and God bless!

rayk1021 · Sep 26, 2009

WOW!! Where does one begin on this one? Let me pre-face by saying that I have yet to start my nursing career. I will be starting school in January. That being said, I cannot offer any practical advice as it pertains to the field of nursing. What I do offer is advice based on what I have experienced in my 38 years of life.

First of all, please don't be too discouraged by the negative replies that you have received. Instead, re-read your original post. You may find, as I did, that it seems as if you feel like those of us who don't mind the yucky, poopy, smelly, and even less pleasant parts of the job are less than important. ( I can't believe that I used the word yucky!) Now if you can see how some have translated your post, you can understand how it has upset some. However, what you are trying accomplish is a very real life struggle. Please understand that probably everyone here has wondered at some time in their life if they are in the right line of work.

There was not alot of information on you post to determine what it is you are looking for in your career. So, what are you looking for in your career? If you absolutely cannot stomache any of the gross stuff, than there are most likely not any "nursing" careers that will be suited for you. You should consider a track that deals less w/ pt care, and more with lab work.

If you are looking for a career for the money, try looking into pharmacology. I understand that it pays well, and is continually a challenge. However, there will still be alot of "paper work" involved. Fact is, you will most likely not be able to avoid the paper work in any healthcare field.

If you want to help people, perhaps a career in education. Though it is unlikely you will be able to be a nursing educator, you could look into other fields of education. To become a healthcare educator, I would assume that you would first have to gain the experience that you would be teaching about. However, to be a child educator would be so rewarding. How many people get the oppertunity to mold our future generation?

These are just a couple of options. Fact is you are going to have to determine what it is you are looking for in a career, and in life. You should never consider any time spent gaining an education as time wasted. However, you should decide what you want to be doing in 10 years. This will ensure that any education you do obtain will put you closer to your goal.

Another thing to consider is perhaps someone you work with. As i understand it, your current employer has the funds to pay for your education. Let's say they pay for your schooling. Then you leave the field because you really hate it. I would wonder, did you take that education benefit from a current co-worker that truely loves the healthcare industry?

Bottom line, if you are finding that you hate your job this early in, it will most likely not get any better. I say this as I am walking away from a 13 year, $65,000 career. I am doing so because I have truely come to hate my job. When you wake up in the morning, and dread going to work, because you hate it, it's time to move on. While it may seem to you that your patients cannot tell that you resent them, I can almost assure you that at least one of them does. There is no way that a job that is so up close and personal can be done without at least one person feeling the resentment. It is my personal experience that a fake smile or gesture of care is worse than none at all.

I know this was pretty long winded. But it just seemed like your issue was more personal than whether you should work at McDonalds or Wendy's. Hope it is taken to heart, and helps you in your thought process.

Scrubby · Sep 26, 2009

I'm going to play devils advocate here. Perhaps the OP knew that they would be facing poo, blood, pus vomit all those lovely little things we all love (not) but the reality of it was just too much. It's one thing to know your going to be dealing with poo, and another thing to be up close and personal. I had trouble with my first patient poo. I grew up as an only child so I haven't had much previous exposure to poo. I thought to myself 'I can't deal with this without vomiting because it stinks'. But I stuck it out and it got better.

So my advice to the OP is to have a good long think about why you got into nursing. You can't really escape the poo, vomit, pus and paperwork. Don't waste your time on a career that you dislike. If you're interested in the health care profession then have a look at other non nursing options.