Terrible toenail fungus, have to get physically examined by a classmate infront of class

caliotter3 · Apr 23, 2015

Put a band aid around the offending toe(s).

RookieRoo · Apr 23, 2015

I have a classmate who has this and she is very self conscious about her feet. She refused to take her socks off ans it was fine. You can feel for pedal pulses and swelling from outside a sock and peek in really quick for color.

jennaroo · Apr 23, 2015

Hi there, first off I am sorry that you feel so embarrassed. Secondly I want to share with you that you are NOT the only person that faces such anxiety's....we had to do the same last semester and there was a girl in our class with bad tooth decay, whom obviously was embarrassed to have fellow classmates looking around in her mouth. Your instructor is most likely putting your class in the vulnerable position of being assessed by one another, not only to have you practice assessments on a real human being.....but also to put you in your patients shoes. When you are in clinicals as well as a nurse one day, you will see your patients with much worse embarrassments than nail fungus. Many are completely exposed in ways they would rather not be....try pooping in front of someone.....anyhow, it is very important that you understand how the patient must feel....when you think of it that way, nail fungus will seem like small fries. Don't miss the opportunity in lab, just do what the previous poster said and keep your socks on....you can tell your classmates you don't like your bare feet touched....no one will think a thing of it.

MurseJJ · Apr 23, 2015

Yes, just keep your socks on, that should be fine (in my assessment lab no one wanted to take off their socks, except me...). If anything, just let your professor know that for personal reasons you don't feel comfortable exposing your feet, I'm sure they'll understand.