Days you are glad you are a Nurse

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Would love to hear about the days that make you feel like you have chosen the best job in the world? Those days when you may really see someone smile or feel better because of something you have been able to do for them.

What inspires you as nurse? :nurse: :yeah:

Specializes in Med/Surg.

The time I had a patient who was a hard a** all shift, constantly bugging me to get the doctor so he could leave and then just before leaving AMA sent me the sweetest card stating that "it's people like you who have made my stay at the hospital more bearable" along with a huge box of chocolates. This was around Christmas time and I hadn't even been working as a nurse for a month. :)

The time I had a rapidly deteriorating pt. who was c/o chest pain who had just a few days ago had an MI in the ICU. I called the RRT and the doctor argued with me that because the pt. was demented he couldn't possibly know that he was in pain. :o I argued with that doctor right then and there. The ICU nurse later told me that when he had the MI in the unit that he sat bolt upright and grabbed his chest stating that it hurt. Doesn't know he's in pain my a**. The pt. was so rapidly deteriorating that I called his family in per his request. He wanted to be with them and I knew from previous conversations with his wife that she wanted to be with him if something went wrong. Wife came in at about 3 in AM and gave me the longest most heart felt hug for calling her in so she could be with her husband during his final hours. Pt. was a DNR and died the next day. The charge nurse later told me she was proud of me and that I did more for the pt. and family than most other nurses on our unit would have done.

The time I had a pt. with chest pain and I called the RRT. The pt. had had a cardiac cath that morning that showed up to 80% blockages on some vessels. The pt. was awaiting a bed at a hospital who could do interventional cardiac caths. The pt.'s ST segment was questionably elevated and we got him shipped out that night. The house superviser, the ICU nurse and the charge nurse all praised me generously that night for being so on top of things and handling that situation well. I later found out that the pt. had to have two stents placed and that we averted an MI. :D

The time I was walking out the door after my shift and one of my demented pt.'s daughters came up to me and hugged me, thanking me for being so patient with their mother and for being "sweet and kind."

The times when I'm having incredibly bad shifts (think having to call a code blue and the RRT at the same time for two different patients :o ) and my fellow nurses helping me to care for my other patients while I'm dealing with my more critical pts. I've had a lot of these shifts lately, back to back I might add. In fact, I'm getting a reputation as the RRT queen. They might make me a crown. :) It's especially nice not hving to worry too much about my other pts. in these situations and knowing that a lot of my coworkers have my back.

As a new grad who is only 8 months in, these moments are precious because most days I feel like I suck at my job and I'm just about always overwhelmed. Thanks for allowing me to relive these special moments. :)

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Work rehab/subacute.

Today I have an orientee. She was working on her med pass independently, I had some time to spare so I was able to comfort a confused patient. It was nice. I used to work LTC and I miss that a lot.

Ms J has mild-moderate dementia and CHF and the combination means she gets anxious easily (oxygenation isn't the best, plus her confusion causes a lot of anxiety, in a cycle she gets very worked up and anxious). Ms J was her usual self, confused demanding to leave the facility and getting quite emotional. I put her on O2 (as she had worked herself up so badly she was short of breath) and sat next to her and was able to spend 15 minutes talking to her. The combination calmed her down very well. She became happy and contented after a long conversation where I asked her about her family and her history, while receiving oxygen therapy. She was calm the rest of the evening.

That made me feel good to see her go from so distraught to smiling and laughing in 15 minutes.

It makes me feel good when new nurses tell me how much I help them and teach them, even though these aren't patients it makes me feel like I"m doing something important when I teach newer nurses.

But the time when I am most grateful I am a nurse is when I see how miserable and bored people at desk jobs are. Every time I hear about people talking about their 9-5 cubicle life I am sooooooooo glad I work as a nurse, where I am active and doing things that actually matter as opposed to riding a desk killing time pushing papers feeling completely emptiness about my work and job.

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i'm just a nursing student and reading all these stories have inspired me even more. i start my first set of clinicals next week and i'm nervous but mostly i'm excited.

oh dear god, please help me while i'm trying to help others in need. amen!

they have inspired me too! you will be fine next week...one day at a time. :hug:

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Specializes in PICU.

This is such a great thread! Thank you for starting this! We need to have chances to talk about the great things about our profession! I am so touched by all your responses. People ask how I can work PICU and I just think "I can". I don't know. But I heard it said best once..."The patients are going to get sick whether I am there or not, I just like to be there to see them through it."

A kid with CP was admitted direct from PCP. He had been vomiting a lot lately and his stepmom took him in. Dr sent her to hospital because of his wt loss and had to call CPS (certain criteria of wt loss I think). I could tell immed that this kid was very well loved by his family and his stepmom took very good care of him. He was very small for age but his skin was great. He had no Gtubes or trach at this time. Their interaction was natural and she had all his information ready for me. I work nights so it was late anyway (add fatigue onto the emotional distress of the night for the family) but the police and CPS showed up to do their investigation. Police interviewed her and also felt that this was not a suspicious situation. But the CPS worker had already judged the situation before even going in to the room and speaking to the mom. She basically told me before she went into that room that she was going to take all the kids away. She accused the mom of abusing the child and said that he could have died, etc, etc. Mom was in tears but I was able to sit with her and let her talk, vent, cry. She had several other kids at home that family was watching and she was there by herself. Very distressing time. I'm grateful I was able to spend a lot of time in that room and that they could be my priority. I took care of him for 3 nights (he ended up needing a gtube). On my last night mom showed up with a big bunch of roses and a card. She said that all the other kids at home had heard about me and were so excited for mom to give me the flowers (they were in their fridge at home until she could bring them in for night shift). To say I was touched was an understatement.

Recently I had a teenager that was admitted for neuro and pain monitoring related to migraine headaches. I was able to get on top of his pain and nausea and he responded well. The parents didn't speak English. I speak some but I understand a lot of Spanish and I was able to communicate as much as possible with family members filling in. About half way through the shift the patient was sleeping and much more comfortable. The mom came out to where I was sitting and in broken English just grabbed my arm and thanked me over and over and over for taking care of her baby. I was shocked that my actions had such an impact. I was happy he was comfortable but felt so rewarded that she came to thank me.

I have an "encouragement board". One of those picture boards with the criss-crossed ribbon on it. I keep notes, cards, and words of encouragement (I also have a picture of those roses) from patients and their families on it. It serves as a reminder that my job and actions are worth it, especially on those bad days when you don't get too many words of encouragement.

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Specializes in ICU.

When my pt asks me at the end of the day if I am going to be back tomorrow. Wish I could say "yes" more often.

:paw:

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Specializes in M/S, Travel Nursing, Pulmonary.

More than any other time I am glad to be a nurse is when it is snowing out. Avoiding snow removal days as a landscape supervisor was one of the big reasons I changed careers (which ended up being nursing).

I remember doing 40 hrs straight, going home and resting for about 9 or 10 hours then getting a call that I had to come back out and work some more because none of the laborers were responding to calls for help. I was a supervisor, not management, which meant I did laborer duties with snow removal. I'd spend all my time on foot going shoveling, ZERO of my hours were behind the wheel plowing like the managers did. It just wan not worth it.

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Specializes in PICU.

Oh, another one......

When the patient that the whole unit took care of over weeks and months, critically ill, almost dying several times, had us preparing for the worst....comes back to visit us, having recovered better than we imagined. They might not remember any of us, but their parents tell them all about the people that took care of them. Our miracle kids. Those ones refuel you for a long time and you remember them as you take care of these critically ill kiddos. :)

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

A sincere and heartfelt thank you note from my patient's daughter whom I had cared for during her last night on earth. It was very touching that just 12 hours out of my life made such an impact on another.

Another time when doing post mortem care and including the deceased patients best friend of the past 40 years. I was taken aback at the request at 1st but it was very important to the best friend and it was something they had spoken about months prior to her death. I felt special to be able to be included in this sacred moment between two friends.

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These are all very nice to read. Thanks for posting the question. I am pre-nursing and with all the negativity around here, I was starting to wonder if the bad would outweigh the good. Reading these has been nice. :)

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Specializes in floor to ICU.

...when you walk to your car (with aching feet and a sore back) after a fast-paced grueling 13-14 hr shift at the hospital with a smile on your face because both of your patients are stable and still breathing and you know you are the reason.

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Specializes in Home Care.

No matter how stressful of a day I have at work, I never regret becoming a nurse. Every single day I work as a nurse is a great day :)

I really, really hated my old telecommuting computer based job. I hated having no real life interaction with anyone.

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im still a student, but i have completed several clinicals..many patients & families have said "you are such a sweetie and attentive", and thank you so very much, you are going to be a great nurse..it really keeps me motivated..

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