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Do Nurses Become Desensitized to Their Work?
Hi! I'm very curious about pursuing nursing. But I am a bit nervous that I won't be able to handle the "gross" things, such as removing deadpans, cleaning people, etc. Is there a way or any tips that help you get used to these stuff?
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Kim’s Answer
When you are doing the gross part of the job, the patient, if conscious, will be apologizing profusely, and you will be reassuring them that "these things happen," "it's because of the medicine they have you on," etc. Like Anca said, it's a person. I was in law enforcement, and I learned early on to treat everyone the way I would want my grandmother to be treated. It was a guiding principle that served me well. We are all humans. We will all be there., some day.
I appreciate you taking the time to answer this.
Connor
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Anca’s Answer
Hello there. I think that sometimes we forget that the role of this typ of jobs is to help people. Behind every "gross" thing there is a person, a soul, a story that goes deeper than everything. In my case, after all these years, this perspective helped me to maintain my hope, my joy to work, reduce frustration and overcome a lot of the system problems. Like all the thing is life, you can´t control them, but you can decide how to react to them. Hope it helped you. Best wishes.
Beautifully said!
Kim Igleheart
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Harish’s Answer
You'll eventually get used to the gross parts of nursing, but do keep in mind that there are different areas of nursing, each with a different level of dealing with grossness. Do some research into the daily activities of each specific subfield for nurses; there may be some jobs that are less hands-on (such as administrative or manager-level jobs).
Are you also open to becoming a doctor? Nurses often joke that doctors do 10% more work than nurses, but make triple the salary. You'd need to study for around 11 years after high school to become a doctor (4 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, 3 years of residency .etc.), but would have a great career. You can also select which subfield you want to go into; surgery and similar jobs will of course be the dirtiest, while other subfields will be cleaner.
I've heard that CNAs oftentimes handle the grossest parts, such as cleaning out bedpans and cleaning people. If you become a doctor/nurse, you can hopefully escape having to do overly gross jobs.
Are you also open to becoming a doctor? Nurses often joke that doctors do 10% more work than nurses, but make triple the salary. You'd need to study for around 11 years after high school to become a doctor (4 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, 3 years of residency .etc.), but would have a great career. You can also select which subfield you want to go into; surgery and similar jobs will of course be the dirtiest, while other subfields will be cleaner.
I've heard that CNAs oftentimes handle the grossest parts, such as cleaning out bedpans and cleaning people. If you become a doctor/nurse, you can hopefully escape having to do overly gross jobs.
Updated
Maddie’s Answer
Hey there! Such a great question! I’ve been an ICU RN for 2.5 years and I was a CNA for 2.5 years. I had some of the same concerns as you, but I feel like they throw you in there pretty quickly and at first it’s awkward and then you get over it. I work with surgical patients and I actually get concerned when patients don’t have a bowel movement or if they don’t have urine output. Part of my job is to make sure these things happen because if they don’t, something is wrong. Someone above mentioned that CNAs will do the “dirty” work, but honestly that’s not always the case. You’re not just going to leave a patient sitting like that, it causes skin breakdown. CNAs absolutely do help, but they are usually helping you do it because they physically cannot turn and clean patients alone. So I wouldn’t get into the mindset that you’ll be able to avoid it by passing it onto a CNA. If anything, I would recommend getting a job as a CNA if you feel comfortable working and studying. You will see things from a completely different perspective and you’ll get used to interacting with patients and experience some of the things you were worried about before you have to have more responsibility as an RN. You can do it though! You get used to it for sure! Please reach out if you have more questions!