I recently took a job as an OB Tech in my local hospital. I have always been extremely interested in the field of Labor and Delivery , and have been considering becoming an OB nurse. I have done very well in all aspects of this job so far- and performed my duties well. Errrr, that is , until they asked me to scrub up for a C-section. This was only the second C-section that I had ever seen- and they were wanting me to assist. I got dizzy, and nearly fainted. I had to be taken out of the operating room . Very embarrassing. Well, my boss told me that she thought it was an isolated incident, and that she would give me another chance to "step up." I tried to psych myself up before the next C-section, and I even prayed that God would give me the strength to do the job. But, nevertheless, I got dizzy and had to leave again. My boss said that she didn't feel I could handle working in OB, and they transferred me to another department. I was crushed. I really want to be a Labor and Delivery nurse- I am fascinated by it. Vaginal births do not bother me, only the C sections. My question is this- am I too squeamish to be in this line of work- or will it get better with time? I have heard people say that if you were really cut out to be a nurse, the surgery wouldn't gross you out from the get go...

I tend to agree with your supervisor. If you are cut out to be a nurse those things really should not bother you.

However, one thing has be concerned. You are strictly a tech and they asked you to "assist." This was beyond your scope of practice and you are not trained to "assist." If you had assisted, and complications arose, you could have been named in a medical malpractice suit, and very well could have lost as you were not trained in this field.

I am a Registered Nursing Student in my last year of school. We are currently doing our OB and Pediatrics rotation. Although we are trained to assist in C-Sections, as well as other surgical techniques, we are not allowed to.

I too agree with your bosses decision, I am a board certified medical assistant and I remember being in school with people that we so nervous around needles... we had to practice giving shots and taking blood on each other... everyone would always want to practice on me because no matter how nervous they got it never bothered me so they felt better working on me... but I remember one time a girl stuck a needle in my hand to take blood and got so freaked she just let go of the needle halfway through my skin... needless to say it didn't feel too good lol

The medical field is not cut out for everyone, and although you may be very interested in it, the patients need to feel you can perform the duties needed. There is so much that can gross you out, make you dizzy, or make you sick... but patients don't want to see that. I mean think about you helping in something and getting dizzy in the middle of it and something bad happening because of it. You can't risk that, nor can the hospital.

There are many things you can do in the hospital that will keep you in the field, but I agree, that department wasn't for you.

Thank you both for your responses. I appreciate you both being honest, even though it wasn't really what I wanted to hear! Lol

Teachermama, if it were me before I would give up on my dream. I would try to desensitize myself. I would rent every gory film I could , I would get as many tapes on operations, c-sectons that I could possibly find, I would get a job as a tech in an animal clinic, meat department etc. to get used to seeing blood and guts before I gave up on my dream.

You could also try disecting frogs

Preserved Frogs, Frog Dissecting Kit for biology - animal anatomy - comparative anatomy

Or get an autopsy video

Autopsy

Or watch a C-section:

http://www.memorialcare.org/miller/s...tion_video.cfm

Watch them until your de-sensitized.

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Originally Posted by bushg

I would rent every gory film I could , I would get as many tapes on operations, c-sectons that I could possibly find, I would get a job as a tech in an animal clinic, meat department etc. to get used to seeing blood and guts before I gave up on my dream.

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To be perfectly honest, and please do not take offense... This does not work. Take it from a Nursing student who has had to watch the films then be in the surgical suite in real life. You see it is much much different in the OR than it is on the TV.


It may work for some, but relatively few. It has to do with your subconscious seeing it on TV and thinking that it is not real.

I remember the first time I saw someone else's blood. 1974, in an OR. The surgeon was operating on a little boy who had tumors in his brain. Got as white as the sheet and had to leave. That was the first and last time seeing blood and body parts, etc. bothered me. You do not lose the compassion for the person but you develop something else that allows you to be there and perform all the duties. Perhaps because you can place the person's needs and health above all else. Yes, there are "gross" things that happen but something inside you kicks in and looks beyond that and sees that person who truly deserves the best you have to give. If you cannot give it, then there are other ways to be of help in other areas.

Personally, I found that I became better at handling those types of things when I worked in the hospital. I witnessed C-sections, colon resections, and other operations when I floated and the more I did, the less I thought about the "gore". Even the patients I treated with viruses eating their flesh didn't phase me as I continued and saw more.
On the same note, now that I work in an office I am much more squeemish about certain things. Smells are much more noticeable, etc. when I enter the patient area than when I was the one treating them.
My sister has become a dental hygenist and she's become much less squeamish as she's spent more time in the field.

Like J_9 mentioned though, this doesn't happen for everyone. Watching movies, etc. won't help because deep down, you know its not "real." Even watching a real surgery on film isn't the same because you aren't the one in scrubs, under lights, smelling the odors, etc. The only way to know for sure is to keep trying in a real setting. Maybe you'll get sick 2x but the next attempt will be okay. Try finding some relaxation techniques before you have to assist. You could be getting stressed/anxious about possibly feeling sick/embarrased again which could be making it harder for you to deal with.

Good luck!

Why not search for career opportunities in natural birthing centers or in traveling midwifery businesses? These types of careers focus only on helping mothers who are healthy enough and desire to have natural vaginal births. This might be right up your alley... Good luck!

Thank you sooo much for putting this on here I am in my pre req's for rn and had my baby boy OK he's 13 lol cut his finger so bad last night he needed about 20 stitches and this is the second time something that intense happened to him. I got very woosy both times but this didn't bother me a bit. It still scares me I may not be cut out for rn though needles and so on don't bother me a bit just him.