[cooley346]

I'm an LPN student 1/3 of the way through school. My question doesn't have to do with school though. We just started our clinicals and I'm terrified. I have absolutely no experiece of any kind. On Thursday we start caring for the pt's. I'm the only one in the class with no experience and the teachers stuck me on the worst hall with the worst pt. He has brain stem CVA, quadraplegia, trach, picc, peg tube, recent MRSA, oral flora, klebsiella, and the list goes on. No problem. I'm just so scared of bringing something home to my wife and especially my 1 year old son. Some people tell me not to worry that it's actually hard to catch stuff, and others just freak me out saying how easy it is to catch stuff. On top of it all I have to do trach care for him in front of the whole class. We've only done it once on the dummy. I'm starting to think maybe I should have just stuck to automotive. Please help me. I really want to do this but am just getting really scared.

[jodeee]

the first is always scarey, but just think you get the hard one over with and then you know beyond a doubt that you can do anything. I was always afraid i would bring some kind of cootie home to the family but i made it a point to always shower and put my uniform in the wash and then felt better about hugging and spending time with the family. I have been a nurse for over 20 years and trach care and suctioning is still scarey to me and i have done it lots. so just take a deep breath and do it. they say the nurses that know they don't knkow it all are the best ones as they look at every opportunity as a learning experience good luck. let us know how it goes and never be scared to ask for help

[cassioo]

First take a deep breath and remember what you learned. Talk your way through your procedures as you do them. When you come home change clothes right away and shower just for precautions sake. I worked peds for years and never was sick and neither were my kids while I worked there. Also did home health and wasn't sick then either use those precautions you learned. You'll be fine.

[Jadranko]

You can try and protect yourself as best as you can, but risks are part of the job. My first 8 years and no problems, a year after I was doing registry a positive TB skin test, maybe a false positive, but it happens. I've had to work in areas and with patients that I was very concerned with the different risks,often its about the all mighty dollar. When I've worked in a place that might say give me a TB patient thats in reverse isolation, and it's not working correctly you dont have to go back, if you are registry. Dont expect your bosses to tell you the truth, sometimes they can't ,won't, or don't know better. Remember that people will do whats best for their interest not yours.
Find a locker at work, change there and bag your clothes to the washer. Better yet find a work setting that you wont be exposed to the risks as often. I'am thinking about OR. Grow a beard so you can get out of TB duty, but you still may be assigned a high risk patient that does not have isolation ordered. Be proactive, talk to the doc, get cultures sent as needed. Dont work overtime, find another job thats safer for the extra cash if you need it.And don't be a workaholic, lack of sleep reduces your immunes system ability to ward off stuff. Practice random acts of kindness, it helps build immune response. If you dont love the work, plan now for a change.