someone tell me it gets better after RN school???

Nurses General Nursing

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Im half way through my 1st semester of 4 and Im hating nursing school! Is this normal??? For one, our clinicals are being done in LTC rehab and I HATE it. Bed sores and bed baths, incontinent patients, feces and urine everywhere, It was all I could do not to have an anxiety attack right there. Its not that I dont empathize with these patients, I do, but If this is what my job is going to be about when I graduate then I dont think I want to graduate. Im hoping that someone will tell me that LTC is where you see the worst part of the job and that there are other areas I can go into that dont deal with these issues. Im sorry but cleaning up someone else's feces and urine and bathing their genitals and whatnot is disgusting and Im not ashamed to admit that. Alot of the students try to pretend like they have no issue with it whatsoever but I think thats a load of baloney and they just dont want to admit that bc its 'taboo' for a nurse of all people to think such a thing much less say it out loud (as if we're saints). We are nurses and yes we care but come one, be real, some of the things nurses have to do is gross! SO, I would like to know, does this sound like a normal reaction to the beginning of nursing school or am I looking at a job that Im going to hate??

I am not saying this to be mean at all but I really don't think you will like nursing. As a currently pregnant woman I can tell you right now to run fast from maternity - all of my coworkers are delighting in telling me their terrible, icky labor stories and they are really grossing me out. Actually, being pregnant in general is kind of grossing me out, I am just looking forward to the baby. :lol2: L & D can be nasty with the best of them, IMO. I feel you, I really do. Poop, pee, etc. is yucky and I don't like dealing with it either. If you don't think you can ever get used to it, though, you really should not waste anymore of your valuable time and money in nursing school. Good luck to you.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

"I guess those labiaplasty procedures are out ..."

:lol2::lol2::lol2:

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Specializes in NICU.
Just do what most want to be nurses do to avoid those aspects of adult care, head to NICU, just kidding... With the current and future market the LTC maybe your only choice upon graduation. Really it is all about attitude, this is the reality of nursing, the choice is yours.

Hahaha! NICU gets pretty gross sometimes, if you can't stomach blood, feces, and the like...With nec and perforations comes ostomies...I tend to get tons of those, which I don't mind. You get used to it, I guess...except for the super prolapsed ones. Shudderrrr...Still, it's all about making the baby comfortable. If it means tons of diaper changes, changing leaking ostomy bags, and all that good stuff, I'll do it - I hate leaving my babies dirty and miserable.

OP, the job market is hard these days, especially in NY where you are - LTC may be one of the only things you can get into straight away. You may not always have a CNA, so you will have to come to terms with your feelings in regards to performing patient hygiene and dealing with some less than fun tasks. Like others said, it's a great way to assess and make sure your patient's needs are met. It's all about having a positive attitude when doing these things.

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If this is how you truly feel, I don't think you deserved to get that coveted seat in your nursing program.
:mad: Uncool. You owe the OP an apology.

I graduate in May, and, although I didn't ever have to do LTC in nursing school, I did have to deal with some pretty nasty poo. My first day, I nearly puked cleaning up a patient. Does that make me a bad nurse? Nope. I don't think so.

You get used to it, honestly. And after the first semester, your clinicals tend to get better. I've been lucky in that our clinical instructors will advocate for us students. They don't allow us to just be in the hospital to do the work the nurses don't want to do or don't have time to do. We're there to LEARN, and there's not much to cleaning up poop and emesis--You can probably figure all that out on your own! I've been to several hospitals in my area, and it's never been an issue, except once and my instructor nipped that one in the bud.

Don't lose heart. Stick it out just a bit longer and see if it doesn't get better.

By the way, I think the plastic surgery route or the dermatology nurse would be great. Operating room nurses do such a different job than floor nurses. I venture to say that poop in the OR is an exception rather than the rule. Same with dermatology.

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OP here, thank you for all the feedback!

I am very aware (now) that new grads are having such a hard time finding jobs and it has crossed my mind already that I may have to take ANY job when I graduate and I HAVE noticed that LTC seems to always be open (cant imagine why) and yes that is causing me anxiety. I would be miserable working there and I pray I am never in that position. I went into Nursing school set on being a Plastics Nurse and did not know until I was fully vested in school and lots of $$ deep that the job market for nurses was so horrible and that I might not be able to go straight into Plastics or Derm. I was fed the idea that Nursing was a recesssion-proof job and that employers were bending over backward to hire you! So now here I am, I have put too much $$ and effort to make that a reason to quit now but what to do about having to face working in another area,one which might go against what I can stomach?

Nursing school is a learning experience. As much as you think you can prepare for 'what to expect', you really cant possibly know how youre going to feel and react until you are there and experience it firsthand in the flesh. I have never been someone who is squimish about blood, Ive changed hundreds of baby diapers and never had even a moment of issue with it, however I do have an issue with cleaning up a strange adult's feces and urine and bathing their genitals. What can I say, Im just not cool with it, wish I was but Im not. I also have always been someone who gags when I smell vomit. Maybe I just dont want to work with sick people. Are these things enough of a reason to not become a nurse?? I dont know, I dont think so but Im not sure which is why I posted. Surely there has to be areas of Nursing where this isnt required except in the rare instance. Hospital Nursing is not the only choice you have as an RN. Obviously there are many other things you can do with an RN degree. As I said, my intention is to become a Plastics or Derm nurse. I dont see myself having an issue with all the blood and I can avoid bedbaths and cleaning genitals except in the rare instance of a labia surgery and even then I dont think its nearly the same thing.

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Specializes in floor to ICU.
OP here, thank you for all the feedback!

I am very aware (now) that new grads are having such a hard time finding jobs and it has crossed my mind already that I may have to take ANY job when I graduate and I HAVE noticed that LTC seems to always be open (cant imagine why) and yes that is causing me anxiety. I would be miserable working there and I pray I am never in that position. I went into Nursing school set on being a Plastics Nurse and did not know until I was fully vested in school and lots of $$ deep that the job market for nurses was so horrible and that I might not be able to go straight into Plastics or Derm. I was fed the idea that Nursing was a recesssion-proof job and that employers were bending over backward to hire you! So now here I am, I have put too much $$ and effort to make that a reason to quit now but what to do about having to face working in another area,one which might go against what I can stomach?

Nursing school is a learning experience. As much as you think you can prepare for 'what to expect', you really cant possibly know how youre going to feel and react until you are there and experience it firsthand in the flesh. I have never been someone who is squimish about blood, Ive changed hundreds of baby diapers and never had even a moment of issue with it, however I do have an issue with cleaning up a strange adult's feces and urine and bathing their genitals. What can I say, Im just not cool with it, wish I was but Im not. I also have always been someone who gags when I smell vomit. Maybe I just dont want to work with sick people. Are these things enough of a reason to not become a nurse?? I dont know, I dont think so but Im not sure which is why I posted. Surely there has to be areas of Nursing where this isnt required except in the rare instance. Hospital Nursing is not the only choice you have as an RN. Obviously there are many other things you can do with an RN degree. As I said, my intention is to become a Plastics or Derm nurse. I dont see myself having an issue with all the blood and I can avoid bedbaths and cleaning genitals except in the rare instance of a labia surgery and even then I dont think its nearly the same thing.

I hope you find the job you are seaking. In the meantime, for the gagging with vomit. Shut off your sniffers and breath very shallowly thru your mouth with lips barely open. Hopefully this will help. :) BTW, I gag with trach suctioning.

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Specializes in Psych, EMS.

I just replied to a similar thread, and I'll respond like I did before. I felt the same way as you as a student and still feel that way as an RN. I chose a specialty where poop is not a daily task, and I am happy and unapologetic about it. Ignore the people that say you are not cut out to be a nurse or that you didn't deserve the spot in your program. That is their problem, not yours.

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You can do other things in nursing... working with software developing companies to implement clinical programs, working with DME like O2 and IVs, or working with insurance companies. I do not know, however, how comfortable these types of employers feel about hiring someone with limited medical experience.

That being said, it can get better (if you don't psych yourself up too much now). I remember my first day in CNA clinical. My partner and myself were wiping up some lady who had no sphincter tone... My partner saw me gagging (fortunately the resident didn't see me) and asked what was wrong. So I turned her over and let her do some wiping for a while.

Another poster also commented on looking into other fields, like RT, PT and radiology. I would seriously consider them. A lot of the pre-requisites are the same, so your concern with wasting money wouldn't be so much an issue. They don't have as much responsibility for daily cares.. Might be worth looking into.

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Another poster also commented on looking into other fields, like RT, PT and radiology. I would seriously consider them. A lot of the pre-requisites are the same, so your concern with wasting money wouldn't be so much an issue. They don't have as much responsibility for daily cares.. Might be worth looking into.

Not that I'm trying to rain on anyone's ideas, but please keep in mind that getting into PT school is often more competitive than getting into NS. The prereqs may be different as well. Not sure about RT or radiology.

Also keep in mind that plastics is one of the big specialties that will see cuts in a recession. People don't have the extra cash to go in for elective plastic surgeries as they might have.

I do hope that you can tough it out and eventually find your niche in nursing. And I agree with the other posters, the comment about you not deserving a seat in your nursing program was a bit harsh.

The best of luck to you.

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I am a new grad, and the only job I could find is LTC. Realistically, I wipe AT LEAST one butt a day. I have CNAs who do most of it, but there is always somebody who needs a bedpan NOW and no CNA is in sight. I also have a elderly obese resident who needs to be straight cathed 3x/day. On the bright side, I am wicked good at cath's now!! I also have an ostomy patient (and if you think regular feces are gross, wait until you get an ostomy), and a few g-tube patients. Always wear gloves, because you never know what will bubble up and surprise you out of that tube!!

This work is the core basics of nursing. That is why they introduce you to it right away, because it will not go away. Even if you are in a hospital and working med-surg.... the majority of your patients will NOT be young, 20-something continent walkie-talkies.

Nothing like a good fecal disimpaction to make you feel like a nurse!!

Oh, and just a heads up.... in maternity, you are gonna be knee deep in pregnant lady privates- and I can assure you that some of these women cannot bend over far enough to clean properly, much less have a nice shave to clean up the yard! And in almost all labor sitations, you will probably see pee/poop and certainly blood/placenta.

I admit, when I was first in nursing school, I was pregnant with morning sickness and occasionally had to take a "time out" while cleaning up someone so I wouldnt puke. However, once I had a gulp of fresh air, I went right back in and finished the job.

If you are having doubts now, I would seriously do some soul searching before commiting to an intensive nursing program and a future career!

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Specializes in ICU, CVICU, Surgical, LTAC.

please don't listen to all of the negative posts on here. Many people look for opportunties to bash people on these boards just to make themeselves feel better. you came here for advice and stated your honest opinion. you can't help how you feel. people want to act like they are saints on here but the truth of the matter is nobody ENJOYS the things you mentioned (unless they are just downright crazy, wierd and disgusting). Some people enjoy the positive aspects of nursing so much that it overshadows the negative aspects. Some people like others have mentioned do it for a few years to put in their "dues" because they aspire to do other things such as advanced practice nursing, teaching, or administration. My advice is if you really are just too grossed out by these things, now is the perfect time to do something else. There are many other healthcare jobs out there that aren't nearly as gross, and you would hate to waste your time and money for a job that you can't stand. I would definately suggest looking into other areas such as radiology tech, respiratory therapist, speech and language pathology, or physical therapy. you will have to complete more schooling for ST and PT, but it may be worth it. Yes there are other areas of nursing such as working in a clinic that arent as gross, but often as others have mentioned, these jobs are extremely hard to come by, or you will need a certain amount of experience in a hospital to obtain them. Good luck with whatever you decide and feel free to PM me if you need more advice or just want to talk.

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Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

Another poster also commented on looking into other fields, like RT, PT and radiology. I would seriously consider them.

Radiologic Technologists often rotate through The B.E. (Barium Enema) room, where they help administer the barium rectally and do imaging.

They may encounter vomit and stool and respiratory secretions (doing lots of CXRs = chest Xrays).

Just FYI.

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