We all have our nursing vices. That one thing that we as a nurse have to ‘gear-up’ for just to make it through the experience. We have to ‘stomach’ some pretty disgusting things throughout our day, and for the most part we don’t think twice about it. BUT there is always one thing that every nurse has a tough time with.
Me?
I mean the really bad ones. Like a stage IV that is necrotic, tunneling and oozing the most mal-odorous funk-da-fied drainage known to man. 
Yeah… ya know what I’m talking about. That ischial or sacral ulcer that is tunneling so bad that you can fit your fist as far up as your elbow in there.
I blame my vice on nursing school. LOL
There was a particular patient that every student had the pleasure of taking care of. We all had our rotation of taking care of this certain patient, since the patient was almost a permanent fixture in the facility.
The patient had 2 very large stage IV’s on their backside that were exactly as I described above. And due to the lack of help and staffing, we all teamed up on a daily basis to change the dressings. I loss count on how many times I saw those two horrifying sites. They are forever burned into my brain, as well as the foggy aroma that emanated from them!
So what was, or what is your vice? We all have one.
Carpe Diem
Eyes. Eyes freak me out. If you have something stuck in your eye or need someone to look around in there, find another nurse, because I’ll be in the corner battling the heebie-jeebies!
Interesting subject. Mine would have to be feces. Never been able to handle it without a mask and cringing– likely never will.
OH COME ON!!!! I would sooooooo take a wound over mucus ANYDAY!!!!!!! LOL..
snot and the specialized formulas we use sometime that smells like it already came out of the patient’s butt.
Dead in the bed bodies, when the family insist that we need to keep them alive no matter the cost so that Aunt Sally from Kookamunga can come say goodbye, sometime next week….
@ Laura I can agree with some smells!!
@ Tracit3 That’s a tough deal. We all hate those situations
@ notratched I can’t say I ever thought about eyes??
@ Matt I wish you luck on that vice!!
@ JillRN You can have your wound any day!!
Mine is suctioning and cleaning nasty trachs. Give me a decub or even a GI bleed anyday. I even worked it out with a fellow nurse one day that I would clean up her GI bleed pt if she would do my trach care.
@ TeriRN WOW. You and Jill have the same vice..LOL. Don’t think I would have chose a GI bleed over trach care.
OH COME ON!!!! I would sooooooo take a wound over mucus ANYDAY!!!!!!! LOL..