The "dirty" side of nursing...

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I'm a nursing student and as dumb as this may sound, does the gross side of nursing ever get easier to handle? Does dealing with poop and sputum start to gross you out less after a while? Do catheters and genital upkeep become less uncomfortable? These are the areas I'm kind of having a hard time stomaching right at the moment and its making me question my decision to enter nursing school.

Yeah. Im a student too and I felt really awkward at times because I was just soo inexperienced and all the RN's were so cool, calm and collected. Then after a few weeks, it was just normal. At the end of the day we are all human! As bad as it for us, imagine what it would be like to be the patient. Try to put yourself in your patients shoes :)

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Whoever designed the fecal management system can kiss my ass. What a mess these things are, but someone had to get in there and clean this patient up. I figured it might as well be me. I don't know if you really want to get used to doing this kind of stuff, but. . . Never really bothered me, just gotta get in there and git er done.

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Specializes in LTC, Acute care.
But while we're on the topic of nasty things, I must share last nights experience with you guys (my hubby does not ask/nor care to hear about my day at work). So I was changing the dsg on a sacral decub on a young lady that still had her 'monthlys'. It was her first day of said monthly (re:heavy flow) I had rolled her on her side just as she let a HUGE fart and splattered my face and top with menstrual blood!!!!! It was all I could do to keep my professionalism about me but I was so grossed out I had to laugh out loud. Luckily I carry a change of clothes in the trunk and have no problem at all using the resident shower room. Whew Im glad I got to share that with somebody.

Ok, this is officially the grossest thing I've heard in...well, ever! I admire your courage!:yeah:

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Specializes in ED, Informatics, Clinical Analyst.

I was nervous about dealing with vomit when I started. I remember the first GI bleed I cared for, a cute little old lady. She started to vomit and I was doing okay but then her dentures fell out while she was retching and I literally had to walk away for a minute. After about 10 years of dealing with all the different kinds of people juices none of them phase me. Ironically the only thing can still turn my stomach is the lovely hair ball monstrosities my cats occasionally produce. Those make me gag if it's first thing in the morning but that's what husbands are for. ;)

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Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS.

i struggle wuith vomit , because, the smell of vomit makes me want to throw up as well , most other things i can cope with ... but vomit is my nemesis , everyone has something they can't deal with ...

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That's why I love my babies. Same stuff, but MUCH smaller proportions :)

LMAO!!! That is why I thought about doing peds once I get my RN, but I think psych may be for me.

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Okay...I just saw a youtube video on trach suction with a live patient so that I could educate myself on this process. Shoot, I'll will take trach suction any day over poop, enema, depacting...or anything dealing with poop!

I mean the way I see it, trach suction is similar to vacuuming out a fish tank.

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Specializes in aged -adolescent.

crb613

hospital politics oh no! ha ha. at least with the messes, the patients always get sorted and cleaned up eventually.:yeah: i try and stay away from hospital politics. they can get very messy and there aren't many winners.:lol2:

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Specializes in CVICU, Obs/Gyn, Derm, NICU.

My worst is poo. Most of the time I manage to deal with it fine. However sometimes it makes me gag.

As for manually removing poo ? I am not actually able to do this

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.

Okay, this isn't dirty, but someone mentioned getting weak in the knees...and this is the only time I ever had to walk (or wobble) away from a bedside.

I have been in the OR for organ procurement on several occasions before and have seen many surgical procedures and it has never ever bothered me.

But the day I almost lost it was when they came to harvest a pair of eyes...they do it at the bedside...they use these spoon like things and just sort of "scoop" them out :uhoh3: OMG!

I really did start to see those little black spots in front of my eyes and got sort of hot and cold.

I was able to compose myself and go back and help but that was the most disturbing thing I saw in all of the years I have been doing this!

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It sounds as though you have been questioning your decision to go to nursing school, and this is one problem you could voice to have a reason to leave. There are some things in nursing that are unpleasant, sure. There are unpleasant things no matter what you do. Perhaps you should do some soul searching and determine what is really the issue for you and make a decision based on reasoning rather than excuses.

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Specializes in Cerified Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse.
I just realized I read this while eating breakfast....
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