This is kind of a silly question.... but I wondered if anyone who is a nurse or current nursing student gets sick at the thought of dealing with poo. I have changed a lot of diapers, babies, toddlers etc... and I know for an absolute fact that the older the person is...the more wretched the smell can be.
Is this something that you become desensitized to after doing it numerous times? I am fine with blood, breaks, urine etcs. It's the fecal matter that scares me.
I start nursing school in 2013, and definitely will not let the poo get in the way of my RN, but it is something that has crossed my mind. I would be so embarassed if I gagged or something changing someone and would NEVER ever want to embarass a patient. Please put my mind at ease and tell me that it isn't so bad after the first 30 changes.
I used to work with rescued dogs and one of the things I would do for the smell then is dip q tip tips in 'thieves oil' and then pull them off the qtip and put them in my nose. I never thought of doing it while working with people though as they would stick out of my nose and look weird. I was thinking of trying something like breathing allergy relief | allergy relief pregnancy | breathe right nasal filters but cant find one that looks 'invisible' enough. All in all I just try not to think about it too much and am oddly thankful when i get a cold now:)
You'll get used to it, but I think you should be a CNA. Usually RN don't deal with the poop; they usually make me do it, which is okay since it's my job. It's great that you're concerned it might be embarrassing for the patient. I really can't stand the really unprofessional nurses that walk into a room and go, "OMG What is that SMELL?" I always think, well, I don't know, does YOUR poop smell like daisies?
Wow, so thankful for all of you who took the time to comment! I was a little nervous that i would be attacked for being concerned about this "minor" thing. I am planning to go into labor and delivery, so hopefully the joy of a pending newborn will take my mind off the Pooooooo...... ha ha. Thanks for all the kind words. Very excited to get into the mode, even if it means gritting my teeth.
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DarkLotus
233 Posts
I used to work with rescued dogs and one of the things I would do for the smell then is dip q tip tips in 'thieves oil' and then pull them off the qtip and put them in my nose. I never thought of doing it while working with people though as they would stick out of my nose and look weird. I was thinking of trying something like breathing allergy relief | allergy relief pregnancy | breathe right nasal filters but cant find one that looks 'invisible' enough. All in all I just try not to think about it too much and am oddly thankful when i get a cold now:)