What is your Nursing Kryptonite?

You know, your weakness ... your one "thing" that makes your stomach flip over when you see a patient with it/them/whatever. I had my first "maggot" patient recently (maggots living where they shouldn't be, you understand), and it really grossed many of my coworkers out. I was relieved to find that the maggots didn't bother me ... apparently my only Achilles heel thus far is nasty dentures, LOL -- EWWWWW.

When I was a tech, I had a nurse offer me $5 to suction a patient because sputum makes her queasy.

Patient request for a back rub

I will do about anything!! Mouthcare, colostomies yum, vents/trachs aha! Woundcare..but i cannot stand females with hair on un natural areas like chin, moustache, legs.. i cannot stand dentures..makes me want to puke!! Please dont make me take them off!!!

Specializes in Surgery Vascular/Endovascular/Trauma.

I hate doing a Liver Transplant on a patient that's been "dry" (off alcohol) for 6 months. A 6 month dry period for your typical alcoholic is not uncommon and in my humble opinion not a reason to grant a new liver. Give me a year off alcohol and we can talk about a liver transplant.

There are too many others who need that liver and won't abuse the gift.

Specializes in Surgery Vascular/Endovascular/Trauma.
You know what? I take mine back. I'll do colostomies.

My Kryptonite is Anti Vaxxers.

I'll just add Anti Vaxxers to my list please

VOMITING. I can handle poop, blood, snot, and any other fluid you can throw at me, but when a patient vomits or even just starts to dry heave I empathetically feel like I'm about to blow chunks myself.

Specializes in Surgery Vascular/Endovascular/Trauma.

I work the operating room. The Docs and some of the nurses are all Borderline Personalities of some sort or another...

I include myself I'm Borderline OCD!

"To this day I just can't. I can digitally remove stool from a patient or handle their sputum and not bat an eye but if they need me to handle their dentures I have to put on the biggest of my big girl nurse panties and really put my mind in a special place to do it."

I'd trade ya in a heart beat. Kudos to you for handling digital removals--it's all I can do to handle it, especially when the pt is "helping" by pushing on his abdomen to make more available to me...Lol And, sputum, GAG. Other than that, I'm good. Don't care for dentures but can handle them. I did have a pt the other day, however, who didn't care for the taste of his mouth swish-and-spit and thought that he needed his teeth rinsed off. I'm thinking, "Ok, here's your glass of water." But, no...he needs both his uppers and lowers rinsed off. Really? I have more meds to give, and I'm pretty sure you can tolerate it! : /

As for your thoughts on Obese non-compliant pts, who put themselves in that position. I'm there all the way! They make me mad, especially when you answer their light, and they say, "I need to be pulled up in bed". My blood boils every time. I feel like saying, "Are you flippin' serious?!" They seem to think of it as our duty, which unfortunately it has become.

Specializes in OR-ortho, neuro, trauma.

Omg I thought I was the only one who got grossed out by hair!!!!

Other things that do me in are earwax and nasty feet.

Specializes in Crit Care; EOL; Pain/Symptom; Gero.

You don't think that the possibility of slowing down his vision loss might have helped with his orientation/cognition? Do you have an understanding of the meaning of mild to moderate dementia? It's not catatonia.

When you develop vision problems later in life, I hope your family members demonstrate more compassion than you have.

Whiny men! Working with veterans, I don't see a lot of these, but there have been some, and I think, My God, man, you've been to war! Surely you can handle this minor inconvenience! (whatever the issue is, it usually is relatively minor)

I can deal with urine, feces, blood, what have you, but it takes everything I have to handle a patient's mucus. I absolutely HATE when they hand me a tissue full of what they have blown out of their nose or coughed up so I can see it! LOL

Specializes in Pediatrics, Critical Care.

I'm pretty good about dealing with bodily fluids, suctioning, colostomies, etc....but the one thing that absolutely makes me cringe is the sight of external fixators. Something about the pins sticking out with all the drainage...I can hardly look at them!! Thank goodness I don't work on a surgical trauma/ortho floor.

Specializes in LTC, wound care.

Smells. The kryptonite is a toss up between two smells. One, colostomies, two, a blend of feces coupled with stinky, infected pressure sore at the coccyx. The latter, which I wasn't expecting, in my first year, was so bad, I had to step away because my mouth started watering and stomack started crapmping (which herald vomit about to happen). I didn't vomit, but had to get a mask with some scented something. That whole experience coupled with my first in-person experience with a cavernous wound, big enough to stuff a tennis ball into, was just too much for my young nurse senses to process.

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