ICU yuck

So I was interested in going back to school to pursue nursing...get my RN then maybe eventually my NP. I got a job as a Patient Care Tech at one of my local hospitals 2 months ago in the ICU. I am not a very big fan of this job. It is gross and depressing and I am dealing with death/dead bodies left and right. It is not at all what I want. It has actually discouraged me from nursing. I am so not into geriatrics or wiping old peoples asses to be blunt! I have always been interested in healthcare and the helping professions and especially children. My first degree was in teaching. Maybe this is just not the right setting for me? Maybe it is the duties of the Patient Care Tech that are disenchanting to me and not the duties of a nurse. Any advise? Should I try another setting before I make my decision? I know the settings and careers an RN can have are limitless, which is one thing keeping me interested.
I will say that perhaps you would prefer to be a pediatric RN. BUT, if you do not like the duties of the PCT, you will not like the duties of an RN. As the RN does a great deal of clean up, and deals even more so with the death and dying of patients. Maybe you would prefer to go into Social Work instead.

Wiping butts is a big part of nursing, as is death and dying. Since the majority of the ill in our society belong to the geriatric age group, most often these are the butts that need wiping. You could go into pediatrics, but that can run up to age 21 - which isn't exactly a small butt.I would suggest you get a position as a PCT in another department and see if this is still as dramatically unappealing to you as it appears to be now. It isn't for everyone. I definitely found working as a tech through school to solidify my desire to be an RN, not hinder it.

kids die too, and that can be even more depressing. just saying.

Quote from sauconyrunner BUT, if you do not like the duties of the PCT, you will not like the duties of an RN.

Thanks for all the advise! Just to clarify: I handle all the things that go on in the ICU very well, but my responsibilities as a PCT (stocking, post-mortem care and taking bodies to the morgue, etc.) are what I don't like.

Quote from ginaw623 I am not a very big fan of this job. It is gross and depressing and I am dealing with death/dead bodies left and right. It is not at all what I want. It has actually discouraged me from nursing. I am so not into geriatrics or wiping old peoples asses to be blunt!

Quote from ginaw623 I am so not into geriatrics or wiping old peoples asses to be blunt!

I'm glad to see this poster is being honest with herself before she makes a career as a nurse. As some of you know, I spent almost a year shadowing some nurses, radiology techs, and respiratory before I knew where I would best fit. I'm coming from a teaching background and know that I love children. I'm still trying to decide if dealing with sick children will be my cup of tea. I have more respect for nurses and the hard work they do than before the shadowing. Having said that, I found that respiratory is where my heart is. So I agree with the others that maybe you should switch departments and see if your opinion about nursing changes or you find another closely related field that fits your personality better.

A suggestion would be to choose something other than patient care and all that applies to being a nurse . Perhaps go back to teaching or if your desire is to be in the medical field, you could do medical transcribing.

Gina-You can totally despise PCT work and still enjoy nursing and be a fantastic nurse!! In order to be accepted into nursing school we had to be CNAs. I took the course and hated every single moment of it. Truly. Got my certification and never worked a day as a CNA.I never want anything to do with ADLs....ever. Just the way I am. I raised three children and my days of toileting, bathing and oral care are OVER!! You DO NOT have to do these things in nursing if you don't want to. I work as both a school nurse and a recovery room nurse. Haven't wiped a butt yet and I don't anticipate having to anytime soon. If the need arose, however, I would take care of it with a smile on my face.For me the interesting part of nursing is managing care....which I do at the school. The recovery room is exactly the same, only on a very short term basis. Both of these jobs offer tons of autonomy without what I consider the "yuck" factor. There are tons of different things out there to do with nursing- not all of them are in hospitals. I think you could find something you would enjoy a whole lot!!

Quote from FlyingScotI'm sorry but if you truly are incapable of seeing these tasks as anything but gross I'm afraid you will not be happy as a nurse. I'm not a big fan of cleaning up stool either but I'm a HUGE fan of having clean, comfortable patients. These "old people" are somebody's mother/father, sister/brother, aunt/uncle or friend. They are human beings not asses. If you can re-think it this way then you might find it more tolerable. If you cannot, and there's nothing wrong with that, then you definitely need to find another career goal.

There will always be lots of 'old people' as patients. Increasingly, even. If you don't like working with old people or have a really hard time with gross, you should think twice...That said, I wouldn't want to work in ICU or LTC either (but not because of the elderlyness or the grossness). If your gut says nursing is a good choice, try another department. If not, maybe teaching is better for you. It's really great you're being honest with yourself and thinking hard before investing tons of money in nursing school.Good luck!