Thinking about nursing... can you help??

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Hi all. I am new here. I am thinking about nursing and I have some questions. I really love to help people and think I would be a great nurse. I already have a degree in Communications and Biology with a concentration in pre-med. Here is my dilmma... I am afraid of getting an infectious disease as a nurse. I worked as a medical writer for a hospital a few years back and never thought anything about working with doctors or patients. Well, I came down with a very rare disease (I am better now, but took 4 YEARS to get over), that my doctor thinks I contracted while working in the hospital. I was around docs and patients all the time just doing my job and BOOM... I got some weird and very sickening illness. One day I was fine, the next... on LIFE SUPPORT. It took me YEARS to recover and thank God I lived at home or I would have lost everything!! Anyway, I have always loved medicine and love to make a difference in people's lives...but how risky is it to get a deadly disease?? Stuck with a dirty needle??

Also... can nurses were whites (like a while lab coat) or is that primarily for just the doctors?

And... do nurses get any breaks when on duty??

Thanks and I really appreciate the advice here!!! Epona

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Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

You posted some great questions..

About the all whites- I dont think there is anything against it, but it depends on the facility that you work in . You also have to remember that different floors have different rules- when I did peds med surg in the hospital and with clinicals, all white is a big no no. (can scare kids very easily). Therefore I have tons of pooh bear, dora, hearts, flowers, and all kinds of scrub tops to wear.

Breaks-hehe..depends on how busy you are! Nursing is so unpredictable, which its something to love about nursing- its never boring. Have I always eaten my dinner while at work? Yes. Have I eaten it inbetween answering call bells and running around? Yes.

The risk of exposure to disease is minimal, as long as you follow universal precautions ie) wear gloves, wash hands, wear gown and mask when in pts room in isolation, etc.

With that being said- I'm sitting here with a lovely case of acute bronchitis from a little 2 year old who was ill and decided, during some playtime, to stick her fingers in my mouth :) hehe..

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

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