OK, we've weighed in on what we HATE to do at work........now, what do you actually LIKE to do? (Besides make money, of course...)
One of my favorite tasks is, of all things, taking care of post-op patients. I enjoy meeting them, finding out about their surgery, and making them as comfortable as possible, which is often quite a challenge! I also love to see them get better day by day until they're finally ready to go home. They are usually very appreciative of the care they receive, and sometimes I'll run into a former patient in town and they'll say "Oh, I know you, you're that nice nurse who took such good care of me!" Some patients come in for repeated surgeries, and we get to know each other over time....I really enjoy these patients, as opposed to the frequent-flyer medical patients who keep landing in the hospital because of bad lifestyles, addiction, and plain old stupidity (we have one young fellow who comes in roughly every couple of months in hypertensive crisis, who STILL doesn't get it that alcohol and meth are not his friends).
I also really like starting IVs---the more challenging, the better---and precepting students. I've currently got a gaggle of first-year folks who've taken to following me around the floor like little ducks, and I love it! They keep me on my toes, and I find I'm a better nurse when I have to serve as an example. :)
I'm glad I read this thread....because I had another one of those "everything went wrong, I'm going to leave the nursing profession nights" lastnight. Well...anyways....one of my "screw ups" from lastnight was not getting a catheter inserted in a sweet little lady that had a pelvic fracture. Anyways...I did the whole "go thru three catheters" thing and then I got a helper and we finally got it in. Little things like that bother me horribly and I was so afraid this little lady would think I was incompetent, not want me for her nurse anymore,etc. Well..it wasn't the case. This morning before I left she said...."Thank you, thank you so much for being my nurse" "You are a very caring and wonderful nurse". After she said this, I thought to myself.... It's not the "technical difficulties" that patients remember...it's the caring, nuturing behavior that they remember the most.
So...in answering the question: I like just being there for patients. An extra smile or touch of the hand can make all the difference for some if not all patients. I have to remember that there is so much more to nursing than the "technical skills".
I love those little comments that patients make.... "you are a great nurse", "you care so much",etc. Comments like those make it all worth it.
Heck...there are a lot of things I love about nursing..I'll start a list..LOL
I LOVE:
1)Bringing a patient thru a crisis and being there to watch them leave the hospital fully restored to their former health.
2)Calling a doc when something "just didn't seem right" and ultimately helping to "catch" an early MI, stroke, or impending respiratory distress.
3)Hearing "thanks kid" from the sweet little elderly man
4)Getting to truly know patients.....not just by their diagnosis and room number..but I mean truly getting to know them .
5)A physician asking you for "your opinion"
6)Crying with a patient
7)Helping a terminally ill patient to die peacefully and pain free.
8)The life long friendships that I have built with my fellow co-workers
9)Laughing with a patient or cracking a joke to help them forget about their pain...if only for a minute.
10) Leaving work each day knowing that I did the best job that I could and helped my patients to the best of my ability.
Ok..I guess that's enough......maybe I won't leave nursing..lol....the above "loves" are part of a list that not many other professions can share in.....Nursing is pretty damn cool when you think about it!!!!
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
Nursing detective work:
Tracking down mystery phone numbers and patient addresses so homecare nurses can locate patients.
Puzzling out patient symptoms and concerns so I can focus on TRUE ISSUE or GREATEST CONCERN, always dropped into the home care nurses lap five minutes from end of visit.
Tracking down that Primary Care Practioner (PCP) so I can obtain appropriate treatment for a homecare client as urban/city patient has been seen at three different hospitals in past month and doesn't know name of any of the docs treating them, discharge docs handwriting illegible on discharge summary (along with phone number) and client never saw capitated insurance PCP.
See a faxed homecare referral cross my desk that says diagnosis: chest pain from compeeting homecare agency and nursing sixth sense causes me to investigate. Call placed to patientonly to find patient has had surgery, open draining wound, no orders for wound care, no wound care supplies sent home, no RX for wound care AND it's 7PM friday evening. Quick check of their insurance finds its been termed 3 months ago. :angryfire
"I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!" states irrate exasperated caller. You lower your tone of voice, speak softly and sweetly to them as they pour out their hearts over how they can no longer care for their loved one alone. Discuss care options available in the community: home care, private pay services, asssisted living, nursing home, adult day care, Office of aging and free/sliding scale services (I didn't know all of these existed) make 5-10 calls to contact PCP, insurance for homecare authorization, DME for equipment, alert case manager, etc.
Deciper what USA, APE, RF diagnosis listed on referal sheet ACTUALLY mean, so call referral source
(USA= Unstable Angina, APE = Acute Psych Episode, RF= Renal Failure as opposed to Respiratory Failure) THAT'S WHY ABBREVIATIONS ARE DANGEROUS!
Deciding that you've had it with all the office paperwork, feel bad that patient won't be admitted on weekend, so you do overtime and admit client to homecare who lives in your neighborhood. At end of visit they tell you "Thank you SO much for coming, I couldn't have given my insulin the first time without you...I'm not afraid anymore."
unknown99, BSN, RN
933 Posts
I love to do wound care; the messier, the better.