what was your...

[PACU queen]

best nursing experience?

worst/scariest nursing experience?

(as a new nurse)

~A~

[GrnHonu99, RN]

My best experiences are still when my pts grab my hand and you can tell that you being there comforts them in some small way. It just makes it all worth it for me. The other night my pt. said, you are on your way to being a great nurse and thanked me. Then later that night her husband came out and hugged me and thanked me for doing my job. It meant so much to me. My scariest was when my pt. almost coded and I thought I was responsible. My worst is when I had an accidental needle stick from a pt. whom we did not know anything about, he was labeled a John Doe bc he was unable to tell us his name and we couldnt identify him or find any family. It was so scary. We had him HIV tested and HEp C/B. THank god he was negative. Worst experience of my life.

[jrussole]

My best experience at being a nurse, it's hard to pick just one. I suppose when an elderly patient during his last breath called me his angel. He thanked me for helping him through it. I simply cried my eyes out after that one.

My worst experience at being a nurse, it's hard to pick just one. I suppose when an elderly patient put his hand down the back of my pants while I wasn't looking. I was on the phone with his MD. Nasty old man! I stood up and he came at me again. I put my hand up to stop him from coming toward me. The MD still on the phone. The MD asked to speak with the patient, after that the patient sat in his chair and I ran out of the house, crying ofcourse! Later the MD apologized to me stating that he and the agency didn't inform the nurses about the patient's previous assault charges on women in the past. That he had a long history of trying to touch women in the street, etc. I just don't know how they could have overlooked something like this!

[augigi, CNS]

Best - a longtime primary VAD patient of mine finally got his heart transplant and came back to visit.

Worst - testifying in coroner's court.