Finally realizing why you want to be a nurse...

[msanders2006]

I've always wanted to be a nurse, i never went back and forth between career choices. Recently in clinical I had a patient that had a trach and just excessive amounts of foul smelling sputum, to the point that the primary nurse refused to go in the room without a mask. I went through the day just disgusted and fussing about it. The suctioning just made me want to vomit. A little background on him; he was hit in the head with a shovel had to have a craniotomy, the trach left him unable to speak, but he could follow commands, and mouth words to me. He was incontinent and wore diapers, throughout the day my instructor asked if we had any urinary output and everytime i checked the diaper it was dry. This concerned her so we went in and the diaper had been put on wrong therefore wasnt catching the urine. Long story short i cleaned him up and got everything fixed for him and as i went to leave the room I looked back at him and he had tears rolling down his face so I asked him if everything was ok and hes kept mouthing "thank you" and i responded you're welcome and he shook his head no and once again said "thank you". This touched me so much i left the room and lost it. He had had no family there for over a week, no one to contact, no one who cared whether this man was dead or alive, but for just a few minutes he felt like someone cared and that right there is why i want to be a nurse.....

[MissJulie]

When I was doing my clinicals for CNA, I was doing a bed bath on a female resident. The facility we were with always used "peri-wipes," which, for those who don't know, are basically baby wipes. When I did her peri-care, she thanked me for using a washcloth, because it had been so long since she had been cleaned with warm water. I almost cried, all I could do was tell her that's how we always did it for my grandmother. I'd have to say that was one of my turning points. But, the biggest was when my grandmother was in the hospital and had a line for a blood transfusion. The nurse came in to remove it and said she needed someone to hold my grandmother's hand. My mom said she couldn't stand the blood, so it was left to me. There I was, sitting on the side of her bed, holding her hand while this woman pulled a tube out of her neck. The idea that I brought someone comfort that had always comforted me really made me think about what I wanted to do with my life.

[brokenroads27]

that was so nice to read! thats a great experience to have. i realized it too when i had patients start to cry and grab my hand and tell me how much they appreciated my kindness. it really warms my heart. the hardest thing about nursing, i think, is learning not to be selfish. you cant think about your own feelings towards a patient's situation, no matter how gross it is or how bad the smell/sight is, or whatever it may be. whatever you feel about it, they feel 10000000 times worse. they're the ones going through that horrible time, not you. that patient you described probably felt horrible, especially not having any support system. its a wonderful thing, being a nurse and caring for someone unconditionally.

[Pneumothorax, BSN, RN]

I was doing a ride a long with a fire dept. And we got a call for chest pain. Well me get to the pts house, package her up and get her into the rig. We hooked her up to the monitor and saw some st elevation. At that pt we started hauling a** to the hospital. The medic was doing other stuff and calling the facility- so I was the only one with a free hand and free ear. I held her hand and looked in her eyes and I told her to just hold my hand and squeeze if it gets any worse. She gave me this look that said " I'm terrified nd I don't know if I'm going to die right here" . That very moment of being there for her at such a vital time , told me that this is what I'm meant to do. Be there for people when they need it the most. :)