weak stomach - cant decide

[hannahstul]

Hi Everyone,

I am making a career change I think. I used to be a missionary for 5 yrs and still do some missions work every year. I am 25 yrs old, had a bit of a rough time in my past when I was married and then finally divorced when my family helped me leave him because of abuse.

Now I work for a fortune 500 company but I am not happy. I want to have a career with meaning. I have been single and working for this large company as an engineering tech for about 2 yrs.

I had never thought of nursing as a child but I have heard so many good things about it. I start my CNA program tonight as a pre req to the nursing program. I have been flipping through my book and I am scared. I cant watch horrer movies, or ER. I am have a hard time dealing with spit, urine, blood, vomit. I want to help people but I am not sure if I can overcome this. My clinicals start in 2 weeks. Is this normal? Do nurses already have a strong stomach going in or is this developed? Any advice would be sooooo very much appreciated. Thanks

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Get adjusted to one thing at a time, don't try to force yourself to get used to it all at once.

If smells bother you, dab Vapo-Rub under your nose.

If puke bothers you, look at the ceiling while you clean it up.

Plegm used to bother me a lot, but being around it so much, it doesn't even phase me.

It doesn't happen over night, it takes time.

[skippybuckRN]

If your heart is leading you to nursing, you are having a "calling" in my book, and you WILL adjust, especially when you get caught-up in the moment (whether happy, like childbirth, someone taking their first steps after rehab) or sad & life is NOT neat, regardless of where you choose to work, we just happen to be in a "wetter" position than most, at least in the beginning.

I always prided myself on my "iron stomach," and worked my way thru college as an ER Attendant, and in a Nursing Home. THen I became a MOM, and all of a sudden, anyone's body fluids other than my families REALLY grossed me out!! I used clove oil or tea tree oil under my nose for years, and since have gotten into a "dryer" form of nursing, in Adult Medical Daycare, as my chronic health issues have included prolonged periods of nausea.

You can do it, one day at a time, and like I did, find a few close clinical-mates who you might be able to swap off the worst of your phlegm cases too~~but, then again, the sooner I got more practice handling the stuff that grossed me out, the sooner I became swift & adept at disposing of it!!

YOu are not alone!! Peace from Mo in Md.

[EmilyCCRN]

I have found that most nurses have one thing that really grosses them out (sputum, feces, GI bleed, even feet), so you wouldn't be the only one that was bothered by stuff. I personally used to be really bothered by assisting patients with toileting (and cleaning them up afterward), but after only a year of clinicals I'm much more used to it and it doesn't bother me that much anymore. You should find out in your CNA clinicals whether you can really handle it, so you should have a pretty good idea about whether you still want to go to nursing school before you start the program. Good luck! :)