I too was freaked out by needles and IV's and now I start IV's and draw blood frequently. Where I'm at now it is hard to remember I ever felt woozy about blood. One of my instructors told me I would get over it and I did. During first semester, I assisted as a doc placed a central line, I was holding the drape at arms length, got woozy and had to sit down, so embarrassing. javascript:emoticon('')
Embarassed My instructor was fanning my face with a paper and the rn got me a cool cloth. Later, I heard about a classmate who actually did hit the floor during a central line, but she went behind the curtains at the second bed. She actually passed out and got a lump on her head and no one noticed. You will get over it. Make sure you eat and get enough sleep. Low blood sugar is not your friend.

Can you also overcome the fear of vomit? I hate it and get freaked-out when someone is sick, but I don't want this to put me off as I really want to do nursing! Has anyone else ever been scared of vomit??

the way I understand it, everyone has their "thing" that grosses them out. My instructors talked about learning to breathe thru their mouths when confronted with nasty smells. You can wear a mask if you need to and some people even put vicks and other strong smelling stuff on their mask. You will learn and grow and be able to handle it. Don't worry, you'll be fine. 8)

im a nurses aid and sometimes you do encounter some pretty "different" smells. What I do is think of it like this:
when my son would get sick or have it coming out the other end, or whatever..... I would try to feel sorry for him not feeling well. And I look at it like it is dirt.
And i look at the patients experiencing these like this also.
wow, I am sorry you dont feel well, I bet it feels sooo much better now that It is not inside of you (this is me thinking in my head to myself)
And how uncomfortable it must feel to have this "dirt" on you.
Here, Let me help you feel better and get you cleaned up. let me help you get rid of those nastys so you can not have to experience this again, like this.......
well, when i look at it like its a dirty situation and now they feel better cuz they got that junk out, it helps me to step up and get it cleaned up. even if it does smell worse than the local skunk in the country.
and the room will smell right again in a few moments, sometimes with the help of air freshners.
hope my thought pattern helps in some way......
we are helping one person at a time. And truely, I applaud nurses for each hour and each person that they care about and help. God bless you!!

how to handle the gross stuff
This is something my Grandmother told me when I was having difficulty as a CNA (Just don't think about it, look at it like your wiping up a kitchen counter with your dish rag and it's nothing else than that) as funny as that might sound, it did wonders for me. I still use that in my mind as a nurse to this day even though I do get by with dealing with a lot less of it.

I have the same problem. I've been watching youtube videos on how to insert IVs. I even feel dizzy just by watching it on the screen. Shucks! I start the nursing program in 2 months! AAAH! I faint every time they draw blood from me. OMG..will i ever overcome this?? HELP!

There are experienced nurses who tell me that although they draw blood and do IVs all day they still can't look when they have to have it done to themselves. Don't worry I think everyone gets over it eventually.

At the starting days of my nursing training I also feel complex about needles and blood, as you are new now, you have to take patients after time passes you will get habituated to it. You have to think about your problem seriously, don't let it become a major phobia. You have to take a quick session with a therapist about your blood and needle phobia, and that will help you as well.

I have no fear with needles but when I started working, I have few fears with bloods but I was able to overcome it as time passes by.