The ugly side of Nursing

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Hello everyone,

I'm interested in nursing thanks to a motorcycle accident I was involved in, and the care I received turned me on to nursing. But I didn't post to talk about myself, I'm curious about something that sometimes concerns me, and I want some other opinions.

I'm asking about the ugly side of nursing, or the gore of the job. I'm fine with blood, and urine. It's the vomit, and feces that I'm worried about. Before I go on, I know the usual response to this, in which I have already started to apply for volunteering jobs in my local hospitals, etc. But I'm still curious, is this something that I should be concerned with? Or do you get used to the sight, more important, the smells of the job? I know not everyone was okay with it at first, anyone want to give insight? Tips? Or should I re-consider my carreer choice in nursing?

Thanks for your time, and answers!

Steven

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Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.

I think there's soooo much more to nursing than blood, guts, vomit, urine and feces. Yeah sometimes you have to deal with it and depending on the population, sometimes more often than not, but that's not what nursing is about. Nursing is about caring for the whole patient, be they in for a surgery or incontinent with a list of other problems.

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Yes you have to deal with vomit and feces. It is not all the time. And yes you do get somewhat use to it. You also learn tricks to deal with the odors. There are some that no matter what you do, they still get to you. But it is not that often and you learn to cope.

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

Everybody's got their "thing" that gets to them. One nurse I work with can go wrist deep in a stage 4 sacral decube, but will absolutely turn green and hurl if she has to suction out a sputum sample. I can deal with all kinds of mucus, GI bleeds, puke, but if I have a burn pt, I have to keep hydrating myself because I'm going to have to throw up after I rebandage the pt. And I have a lovely collection of strong smelling bath gels, because I need to make sure I don't smell it on my hair or skin when I go to bed, or I'll be rebandaging the burn "all night" -- I'm a night shifter, so my "night" is daytime...

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You get used to it. It's not an "all day/every day" thing anyway.

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Specializes in Staff nurse.

You will be able to tell a GI bleeder from a C-Differ; certain urine smells mean certain conditions. Color, odor and consistancy of all body fluids will be part of your assessment. You'll get used to it, and as nerdtonurse says, you'll find what works to get your work "out of your hair" lol! It's normal to think about it.

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Specializes in CICU.

I have found that the reality is not nearly as bad as imagination.

Sometimes it IS tough, but nothing most people can't handle (watching myself and classmates). I do hate it though, when it seems like I take an odor with me from clinicals...usually a shower takes care of it.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

I very seldom saw vomit. It is considered traumatic for a patient to be vomiting so doctors get it stopped immediately. The same with feces. More than one poop a day is too much and traumatic and the doc will generally do something about it if he is told.

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Vomit hasn't been an issue at all, but I've strained more than my share of poop this semester. I just hold my breath and get it done as quickly as possible. Yes, I gagged a time or two, but eventually got it under control. Some of my classmates carry a mask around with them smeared with chapstick or Vick's. I don't worry about it because that's not what nursing is to me. I don't even think about it, I just get it done. That's such a small part of the entire experience that it doesn't stress me out or get in my way. There are so many options in nursing today that once through school, you could do anything you want. I personally love the whole experience, blood, gore, and all!

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I learn a trick after having to deal with a strong smelling skin condition. Holding my breath wasn't helping because every time I walked out of the room, the smell was still in my nostrils. Try breathing in through your mouth and out through your nose. That way you are blowing the smell out. It has worked every time.

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Specializes in Case management, occupational health.

I still don't like sputum, but it is really not that big of a deal.

Smells used to get me but they don't anymore.

I have worked in the medical field for a long time before going to nursing school and truthfully I could clean up blood and guts with one hand while eating a sandwich with the other

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Specializes in CICU.
...but I've strained more than my share of poop this semester.

I've just got to ask - why are you straining it? I've had to do a few different things with it:eek:, but never that...

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