[anaistremblay]

I'll be starting school in September and I have one thing that's really worrying me. I hate puke. I see it and I immediately start gagging. Thankfully I don't actually puke, but the gagging is not exactly great! Any advice on how to "train" myself not to puke. I have tried exposing myself to it as often as possible (as weird as that sounds), but this hasn't seemed to work.

[cougarnurse]

My downfall is the poop from tube feeders. You'll learn to 'check' the reflex.....a bit of Vicks Vapo-rub will sometimes kill the smell, but is VERY obvious!

You can always sympathize with the ill person.....

'Cat'

[AprilRN]

It may never go away. I worked in long term care for almost 5 years (just graduated nursing school) and am finally able to barely tolerate it. I've talked to alot of nurses who have something that really bothers them. You just cover it as best you can...and don't go into a field where you deal with it constantly.

The few times I really couldn't cover that I was gagging...I just joked about it and the patients laughed with me.

[anaistremblay]

Thanks for the replies.

Ugh, that doesn't sound very hopeful. I'd really like to do emergency or paediatric nursing. It's not the smell that gets me, it's the visual aspect. I can handle any other bodily fluid, but that one still gets me.

Any tips for hiding it at least?

[luvanurse34]

Ok.......time to be realistic. If you plan to enter the healthcare field, you not only must be prepared for the smells, be able to handle them, but also be prepared to get some good stuff on you. I have worked extesively in EMS and in LTC as well, and can tell you that you have to prepare for it all. I have been peed on, pooped on, spit on, coughed on, sneezed on, bled on, and puked on. If it comes out of the human body, chaces are it will stink and is very likely to get on you. If you can't handle that, this proffession may not be for you. That may sound a little harsh, but its true. Good luck to you.:luck: