What is your favorite nursing moment?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

What is your favorite nursing moment?

For me so far, I was caring for a 7 year old girl during my senior preceptorship. She had Henoch-Schonlein purpura and had a chest tube and the team was considering a PICC line for her. One morning, the PICC nurse came up to evaluate her and speak with the mother before any decisions were made. I had seen the PICC nurse use her big tv screen looking machine to look at the best possible veins, and thought it was really cool, so when I saw the PICC nurse arrive on the floor, I ran and grabbed the student who was assigned to the same client because I always appreciated when nurses at clinical grabbed us to see or do something interesting. (I was there as a preceptorship student, but there was also a pedi clinical group from another college, too.)

So we went in, and the PICC nurse spent a while talking with the mother about PICC lines and answering all her questions and all that, while the other student and myself stood off to the side, listening. I looked over at the little girl at one point, and noticed that there was a tear running down her cheek. I crouched down beside her bed, and quietly asked her what was wrong. She whispered back, "They're talking about something that's going to hurt." I don't recall exactly what I said in response, but I said something hopefully reassuring and got her a tissue and was rewarded with a smile. I don't think anyone else even noticed our little exchange, but this really stuck with me. Such a seemingly small moment, but it meant a lot to me.

It was sort of a perfect reminder that kids understand a lot more than some people give them credit for and how easy it is to lose focus on your client.

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Specializes in LTC.

that's a great story. and thanks for the link on the dx. hopefully, i'm not the only one who'll need to look it up.

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

I've had a lot of good moments in the last 32 years, but I think the best one occured about a year ago. I'm a school nurse and one day I had a 13yo girl come to the clinic with the complaint of "aches & pains." I was about to do the standard temp-breathing-call mom but something stopped me. Instead I asked "what do you think is causing your aches and pains?" So glad I asked--her mother had beaten her just about to a pulp the night before. The girl was dressed in such a way that you couldn't see the marks, but when she showed me the bruises on her shoulders I about fainted! They were enormous. With the help of the female school counselor we were able to discreetly evaluate the girl, document all her obvious injuries (and they were many and horrifying), and notify the school officer immediately. He took her statement, called CPS, and that girl never went home again. As she was leaving, she thanked me for taking her seriously. :o

I was really proud to be called a nurse that day.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Staying 3 hours past my shift to care for the grieving family of a pt who had just died.

And the family writing a letter to our Chief Nursing Officer about how much that meant to them.

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Meeting so many wonderful people and being a part of their lives even for a brief moment. And then thinking of them every so often and talking to colleagues like ... "remember Mr. so and so". :)

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Specializes in Cardiac ICU.

My stroke patient who never said anything for days--said my name once. =)

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Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.

"Thank you for saving my daughter's life", after I walked in my patient's room to give a bolus for dec BP. As I was starting the bolus, I looked up at the monitor - her HR was dropping - so I used by big girl voice (since I don't raise my voice, everyone knows to run) and yelled for help. They are awesome parents.

"I love you...not like that, but you listened to me and you cared" from an adult aged patient who wound in Peds ICU by some strange twist. Lovely young man with a great family. He just didn't fully comprehend the extent of his illness and what his non-compliance could mean.

Seeing families or family members of kids you've cared for - some of them you shed tears of rememberance for.

Making sure that infant is not left alone until the funeral home gets there. Lullabies and "Jesus Loves Me".

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