Stool sample for Micro class?????

[RXtech]

We were informed last night in our Micro lab that next week we will be taking home specimen cups to collect samples of our stool for the following week's lab. This is a departmental requirement, not just something my instructor wants to do. We were all pretty squicked out about it, but I just told myself, "you gotta do what you gotta do."

Well, this morning I told people I know about it, and everyone is absolutely horrified that I have to do this! :chuckle Even other people who have taken Micro before are shocked. Did anyone else have to do this? Is this a common lab for pre-nursing students? Or do I go to a school staffed by poop freaks? :chuckle

[skittlebear]

That is kinda odd for the basic Micro class. We did have to do this in LPN school though. In Micro, all we really did was swab whatever we thought was dirty surrounding us.

[missjennmb]

I've gotta say... I used to be frustrated about my AP teacher reading out of a book, but after reading this thread, I'm glad he is so unadventurous

[mshultz]

We were actualyl not permitted to take a smaple from anywhere but G-rated places (prof's words) due to that there might be some sort of virulent infection. Evidently they had an incident with a lady partsl swab and the girl had some sort of nasty std going on and wasn't aware of it til they cultured it...

I'm not sure that taking a swab from a G-rated location (mouth) and finding "some sort of nasty std" would be an improvement.

One of my professors used to have his students do blood typing, until a woman turned up with a blood type that could not have been inherited from her parents. After she confronted them, they admitted that she had been adopted.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

OMG! All we had to do was swab our nares.

You poor things.

That said I would just suck it up and do what I had to in order to get the grade. Just remember that you only need a very small amount and not a big steaming cup full!

Got to quit typing because I am laughing too hard.

Your teacher sucks!

[rehab3]

Ther are a lot of other specimens that are required for Nurses to handle and process; might as well get used to it. At least you know where it came from and who it belongs to--will not always be as nice a package, but may in fact save a life with proper testing and follow up. Rehab3

[loricatus]

Ther are a lot of other specimens that are required for Nurses to handle and process; might as well get used to it. At least you know where it came from and who it belongs to--will not always be as nice a package, but may in fact save a life with proper testing and follow up. Rehab3

Yes, you are right what nurses are required to handle and process; but, we never have to carry it around in a baggy and let it ferment somewhere while we are in the process of testing it for pathogens-that's where labs come in.

Also, just not understanding what you mean when you say that bringing in your own pooball could save a life with proper testing and follow up. Are you referring to having to send a patients's stool specimen to the lab for them to identify something that a doctor would write an order to treat it with? Personally, I don't even need to see the poo with a case of C-Diff, the smell gives it away and testing is just to confirm what most nurses can surmise from one whiff. Waiting to start the antibiotics until the lab determined it was C-diff would actually hinder the patient.

Sorry, you might be able to get used to carry your own poo around with you; but, please don't lecture others that they should have to get used to it. There are a lot more practical and sanitary ways for the OP's teacher to handle this.

[frenchfroggyAPRN, MSN, LPN, RN, APRN]

ditto here. had a guy last week with golytely tx and wow after 7 years i had never seen sooooo much. i swear it was on the bathroom walls!!!:chuckle still i think in a classroom setting where it isn't "work" there is a certain degree of the thing going there. we had to bring in urine which alot of the class did not do. we also had to bring in rotten food.

the worst is someone who is c-diff positive, with the explosive diarrhea, yes it does get all over the place :barf01::barf01::barf01:i've been a nurse for 9 years and that is worse than someone with feces coming out of their mouth. in my micro class we only had to put swabs up our noses, swab our desks, and swab our hands.

[AgentOrange]

This is ridiculous. I've never heard of this being done in a microbiology class. I think it is an invasion of privacy and totally unnecessary. Testing one's own poo is not going to make one a better nurse (or a better microbiologist, for that matter.)

[catshowlady]

I agree, this is a violation of privacy. First, how embarrassing to have to bring in a turd to class for all one's classmates to see. Second, if something embarrassing grows or the student has a bowel condition (e.g. constipation or IBD), the person's condition would be revealed to the class. NOT appropriate. :imbar

Moreover, I believe it is also an infection hazard. How many folks have a supply of medical gloves at home to use while handling their stool? And carrying it around town? Might even be a health code violation, if you ask me.

I'd seriously considering taking this up with the school administration.

[student1000]

I agree with Catshow Lady that this is a violation of privacy and an infection hazard/health code violation.

We were not allowed to do any body fluid type testing in micro at my community college and had to use fake blood to decide if the sample was A pos, A neg, B pos, B neg, etc. Even in my nursing school we had to use something fake to do occult blood testing.

Such a thing as using your own bodily substances was acceptable many years ago but with AIDs, Hepatitis and other communicable diseases known about today most places have rules against this. Even if you wanted to use your own personal body fluids we weren't allowed.

I would propose the professor should have you swab something at the salad bar or the bathroom door handle and see what it grows. I know we had to do swabs of places near the lab and it was interesting to see what grew. Also my question at college labs is how is all of this stuff that is grown disposed of? I never saw a biohazard bag in my community college (granted it was a general micro class).

[DeadHead219]

yep, we had to do this too ... we didn't need an actual piece of feces but just enough to put on the tip of a cotton swab and place into a test tube. i think we were checking for e.coli - but i can't remember right now.

[Psychtrish39, BSN, RN]

That is odd and we did do cultures off our skin grew some very interesting staph but just epidermitis.. no aureus but he would have freaked over poop my college didn't have lab fridge room for that many samples and all. I think it is weird . But to each his own. I accidently spilled a tiny amount of E Coli not the dangerous one and he about screamed . Then again I think he was kinda anal. :wink2: