According to CSI: every criminalist has a fluid that especially grosses them out. From my admittedly non-scientific polling, it's the same with nurses. So what's yours? What's the one thing you'd take another nurse's entire assignment to avoid?Going by my reaction to our lectures today, I think mine's necrotic tissue in a pressure ulcer. Thank god I'm going into an NNP program! Give me poop, blood, vomit, ANYTHING before a festering wound.
mommatrauma, RN 470 Posts Specializes in ER. Jun 14, 2005 Any fluid related to the eye...grosses me out...eww...queasy just thinking about it...
ckh23, BSN, RN 1,446 Posts Specializes in ER/ICU/STICU. Has 6 years experience. Jun 14, 2005 Any fluid related to the eye...grosses me out...eww...queasy just thinking about it...I'm with mommatrauma, eyes freak me out. My eyes are watering just thinking about it. Gives me the chills.
SmilingBluEyes 20,964 Posts Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis. Has 26 years experience. Jun 14, 2005 spuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuutummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyuck.
Nurse Ratched, RN 2,149 Posts Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health. Jun 14, 2005 I've said it before: two words that should never go together...fecal emesis.Edited to add: I'll trade for the OP's wound tissue - love a good debridment .
elizabells, BSN, RN 2,094 Posts Specializes in NICU. Jun 14, 2005 I've said it before: two words that should never go together...fecal emesis. Oh, and earwax all clumped up w/ hair.
elizabells, BSN, RN 2,094 Posts Specializes in NICU. Jun 14, 2005 Edited to add: I'll trade for the OP's wound tissue - love a good debridment .Deal. I should probably finish more than a week and a half of my BSN-MSN program before we hammer out the details, though. Clins start Wednesday!
Nurse Ratched, RN 2,149 Posts Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health. Jun 14, 2005 Oh, and earwax all clumped up w/ hair.Now you're talking. I flush ears all the time and it is the most satisfying task-oriented thing I do lol.
Tweety, BSN, RN 32,946 Posts Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac. Has 31 years experience. Jun 14, 2005 Nothing much bothers me. But a drunk's emesis can take my breath away. Also liver failure poop can be noxious.Sputum doesn't bother me a bit.
onehusbandsevenkids 298 Posts Jun 14, 2005 Okay, see you all are totally making me re-think this nursing gig again!Years ago nothing much like this stuff would have bothered me, but since I'm older, I get grossed out so much easier for some reason. You'd think with all of the nasty situations 7 kiddos can bring, I wouldn't be bothered by much. I used to be a CNA (years ago) and could do just about all of that work without a problem, now for some reason it bothers me and my gag reflex has really kicked in.The "grossness factor" is what terrifies me most going into clinicals. :uhoh21: I can take all the book work they want to throw at me, but gross stuff? Like I said, now I'm re-thinking nursing! LOL! Even though its the only thing I've ever wanted to do for as long as I can remember - except being a mom.
TiffyRN, BSN, PhD 2,315 Posts Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research. Has 30 years experience. Jun 14, 2005 I'm pretty easy going, usually things that get me get most people; GI bleed poo, that sort of thing.I do work with a nurse who has a particular "squick out". I work NICU and as some may know, sometimes babies are born with extra digits, the ones without bony joint connection to the hand are simply tied off and eventually they fall off. Until they do they hang there on the side of the hand (usually) purple and dangling. This one nurse who is very good and very compassionate cannot take those at all. She calls them "grapes" and always shudders when they touch her. She says they just freak her out and she's always afraid they are about to fall off (which is the objective).
