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.

Specializes in Pediatrics & luvin it.
LMAO!!! That is why I thought about doing peds once I get my RN, but I think psych may be for me.

If you don't like pooh, PEDS is not for you. I am a CNA/PCP on the PEDS floor in a childrens hospital, so I am one of the ones that get to do most of the dirty work. I am also a nursing student at the local University. Now I don't know if you know this as a student but antibiotics cause diarhea, I know we have not gone over this yet in any class, and let me tell you some of these kids have explosive diarhea when on antibiotics. After saying that, I can tell you it does get better. I remember my first time assisting with wound care, I almost got sick but after helping but the next time was much easier and the worst one that I have seen recently didn't even bother me. I hate seeing the kids being sick but I love seeing there smiles when they leave and some of them even hug you on their way out. I can also say that I have helped out on a couple other adult floors in the connected hospital and the kids complain less than some of the adult patients that I have worked with.

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but vomit is my nemesis , ..

You should have said, "Emesis is my nemesis!" :lol2:

Poop, blood, and all that is gross for sure, but I'm pretty sure I turned a nice shade of green the other day when I pulled the socks off a man and about half a cupful of dead skin flakes fell out of them all over the bed. :eek:

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Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS.
You should have said, "Emesis is my nemesis!" :lol2:

Poop, blood, and all that is gross for sure, but I'm pretty sure I turned a nice shade of green the other day when I pulled the socks off a man and about half a cupful of dead skin flakes fell out of them all over the bed. :eek:

at least his toe wasn't left in his sock ... not seen that happen my self but have nearly had that in that i did a dressing on a chap in the ED and when cleaning the foot i noticed that his toe was bascially held on by a thin sliver of tissue ...

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at least his toe wasn't left in his sock ... not seen that happen my self but have nearly had that in that i did a dressing on a chap in the ED and when cleaning the foot i noticed that his toe was bascially held on by a thin sliver of tissue ...

One thing's for certain... it can always get grosser! :p

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Specializes in Dialysis.

You will have good days and bad days! Sometimes I feel like there is nothing left to gross me out and then I will get a patient with C-Diff, and that gets me everytime, that is a very distinct odor, UGH!

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I'm glad that you asked this question so that I could look at the responses. Because honestly, dealing with feces and genital care (moreso on the genital care) is something I have been very unsure and a little nervous about. I'm glad to read that it gets easier.

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Has anyone vomited on the job, possibly earlier in their career? How was that handled? I'm curious as to how situations are handled when the personal emotions or reflexes come out of the nurse. oh yeah any fainters?

Lmt,

I am a soon to b nurse and currently been an EMT for a while now. One of my coworkers who has been in EMS for about 20 years told me about the other day when he vomitted on scene of a 911 call for the first time. Guess this was the nastiest house he ever saw/smelled and had to run outside and yakkkk in the front yard...guess some things are just unavoidable in this business.

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No, it has not gotten easier for me. I'm almost at the year mark now as an RN, and I am still grossed out.

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Specializes in Mental Health/Oral Surgery/Medical Detox.

be an opd/clinic nurse, I have done none of the "dirty work" except on rotations in nursing school. Well, oral surgery was kinda ruff sometimes and an opd endosurgery clinic but nothing like med/surg. there is a special place in heaven for med/surg nurses...

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I'm still in nursing school, but I got my start dealing with gross stuff years ago when I worked in a couple different group homes with developmentally disabled kids, and more recently when I worked in assisted living and memory care, and I can definitely relate. I remember feeling like I'd never get used to dealing with other people's feces/urine/vomit, or providing extremely personal care, but it's definitely become much easier over time.

These days, when I have to wipe a backside, change a depend, provide catheter care, or empty a colostomy bag, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to help preserve another person's hygiene, health, and dignity. I still feel personal discomfort, but it's pretty insignificant compared to that. I know it might sound hokey, but it's the truth.

But yeah, know that it will get easier, especially once you're working and dealing with other people's bodily functions almost every day, and try to remember to think about the care you provide from your patients' perspective- doing so goes a long way in making the job easier in many ways.

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Specializes in med/surg, cardiology, advanced care.

my personal biggest gross out was when i walked into a room and the suction canister was almost full and had black fuzzy mold growing on top, had to clamp my teeth to change the canister!

one night i was working in the er and the squad guys were talking about a run they had earlier that evening. an elderly pt had to be cut out of a chair because skin had fused to the chair. someone had cut a hole in the chair and put a bucket underneath. pt had a terrible wound with maggot infestation. they said the stench was unreal and when the finally got the pt out of the chair they saw mice scatter :eek: :eek; :eek: these were seasoned squad guys who have seen every kind of trauma you could think of and 3 out of the 4 said they vomited. the pts daughter was prosecuted and received a prison sentence, don't know what happened to the pt. just when you think you've seen it all...

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Recovering sympathy vomiter here. Time was -- and it was not so long ago -- that if my patient barfed, I would heave simultaneously. I'm over it. I still vomit once a year or so, usually when I'm swimming in c. diff. The last time it happened, one co-worker graciously held up the waste basket. (Fortunately, for his dignity, anyway, the patient was barfing over the other side of the bed and didn't see me blow.) Another made a barf bag that I could wear around my neck for emergency use. Of course, I was photographed wearing it for posterity.

Everyone in the ER has something that bugs them; when we can, we step in to help each other out, and it usually ends with us laughing over our reactions to the offending substance. I routinely see patients I can smell from 20 feet away (and it really is satisfying to help them feel clean and, when time allows, to wash their clothes for them). OP, it does get easier after a while, and you'll learn your own tricks for minimizing your reactions in the meantime.

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