What do nurses really!! do

[Nubia]

I am really considering doing a nusing degree but I was bit skeptic, a friend of mine basically says that a nurses jon is to bathe patients, clean the mess and empty bed pans. is this true? I wantt to be able to care for their needs but not like that. I am really worried about this

Can any one help, email me your responses please

[GreenNurse]

If you are worried about those kind of things you might want to re-consider your decision. Those things are the fundamentals of nursing care - you might get some help with these tasks but you also need to feel comfortable and be competent in performing them as well.

[jmgrn65, RN]

Nurses do a lot more than emptying bedpans and bathing patients.

We assess patients and make plans according to what we find. If the patient has decreased lungs sounds and why, and whether or not to call the doctor. Does the patient need to deep breath more often or get out of bed.

Administer meds and know if it is compatibly or will interact with other meds. Teaching the patient and family about the illness, discharge instructions, medications and much more.

We give emotional support, there is so much more.

[Sassybottom]

Another thing to consider is that it is a good thing to be involved in these intimate cares - bathing a patient allows for time to do a skin assessment, emptying a bed pan and cleaning a patient up allows for an opportunity for a stool assessment and assessment of the perineal area and vulnerable areas for skin breakdown, helping to tidy up a patient's room helps demonstrate to the patient that you are there for them.

You will get your hands dirty as a nursing student - at least. You may go into an area like school nursing or psych nursing or clinic nursing where you don't have to deal with these types of things but you'll be exposed to them during school.

[sister s]

it sounds bad - i felt the same when I started nursing, but you get used to these things and they become part of a bigger thing - ie ways of assessing your pt. Just keep your gloves on and block your nasal passage with the top of you tongue!

[TazziRN, RN]

we do do those things.....we also clean up vomit, blood, wash hair that hasn't seen shampoo in weeks, skin that forgot was soap feels like..........and we also save lives.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Nurses often manage patient care and they frequenty are performing that patient care. So nurses assess their patients (how are they doing? normal? worse? use eyes, ears, touch, stethoscope, etc to aid in assessment), check MD orders (does it all look in order? anything special for this patient?), make sure care is given (medications administered, dressings changed, IV fluids run, NA may help with hygiene, toileting, and VS collection), continue to monitor patient - make sure patient is breathing well, peeing & pooing (how much? color? etc?), passing gas, walking or whatever else might indicate or create a problem (eg, patient needs to walk after surgery to help prevent certain complications). Nurses will determine when a situation is such that an MD needs to be called in and be able to identify and be ready to assist with emergent situations. Nurses often teach patients about their care and reinforce MD explanations. Nurses often "make do" and "make things happen." For example, a patient is going home who can't afford lots of supplies for their wound care, so the nurse helps them come up with a way to manage with what they have. If social services is needed to assist the patient find local resources to aid the patient, the nurse needs to make sure that social services is called and that the patient is seen - because one can't just assume that what is requested will automatically happen - since everyone is busy juggling lots of different responsibilities. Because of this stress (and probably other reasons as well) some health personnel can be quite snappy and abrupt, which means the nurse also must develop a thick skin and be assertive about what he/she thinks the patient needs. Well, that's some of what nurses do!

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

I notice that you are from the Bahamas. Honestly, I'm not sure how similar or different nursing would be in the Bahamas versus the US. Is there a local hospital where you can spend some volunteer time on a nursing unit to see nurses in action?