It means a lot to me when the patients themselves tell me that I'm a good nurse. That means I'm doing my job well. The first time the resident in the LTC I work at told me that was when I first started working PM. At that time, I used to work NOC shift all the time and it was my very first day working in the afternoon. The resident said, "You're a good nurse because some nurses are 3-4 hours behind."
Another patient told me that I'm a good nurse.
Despite being a thankless job sometimes, there are still some positive things about it.
How does it feel when the patients tell you you're a good (or even great) nurse? For me, it feels amazing.
Jesus, there's a lot of crab in the bucket mentality here.
If you get a compliment from a patient, you're not a good nurse because you're pandering to them?
Grow up.
I get compliments from my patients. They tell me I am a good nurse and that I make them feel comfortable. I haven't killed any of them yet. I have saved quite a few of them from going downhill.
I also get compliments from my peers and from my managers. I don't care about those as much, because this praise is usually about meeting numbers or being a team player. I get compliments from docs to for catching things (usually much later after I have pissed them off while advocating, but, there you go).
So what? I didn't get into nursing to make my hospital look good on paper, I got into it to make decent money while helping people. Teamwork makes my life better, it's purely selfish on my part.
Take the genuine compliments for what they are. Someone is *******' GRATEFUL that you made their life suck less at a terrible time in their lives. How is that remotely negative?!?!
I have actually gotten that quite often! I think it's because I pay attention to detail and the whole pt. I see a lot of nurses turning to medication to treat every single symtom a pt may present with. That's not nursing, that's practicing medicine and completely out of our scope of practice! Nurses sometimes forget there most basic nursing interventions. A thorough nurse will implement several nursing intervention and document the pertinent assement findings prior to requesting the physian order a new med. A even better physician will ask what interventions were implemented and whether the outcomes were effective or noneffective based of your assessment. Unfortunately, physician have so many pts and depend on the nurse to be aware the pts of PMH, allergies, critical lab results and medications. So many nurses forget to look at these "minor" details and focus on one abnormal assessment finding. Does the nurse know of this is a chronic intermittent symtom or is this new onset of a minor detail that could lead to a critical change in pt condition. Nurses seem to forget to see their pts as a whole. The pts/ families know when the nurse is paying attention to a new complaint of pain or SOB while ambulatory. It is the nurses who are responsible for catching an adverse reaction to a newly perscribed antibiotic when the pt is allergic to sulfa. You are the physicians eyes and ears, he depends on your assessments and follow-through with treatment, be it pharmacological or just placement of 02, when deciding if he should try another treatment option. We are the glue, that puts the peices together to provide the physician with a picture of their pt so he can properly treat the pt and prevent a critical crisis from occurring. Just like the physician depends on the nurse to implement a new tx plan, be aware of critical vitals or labs and act accordingly within scope of practice, or even be aware of the likihood of an adverse reaction occurring with newly perscribed medication and focus our assessment, we depend on our aides to do the same for us! Nurses sometimes forget the very basics of nursing. Therapeutic communication is not only a benefit to the pt, it builds a confidence within them that makes them feel comfortable and reassured that they are recieving competent care and allows you to educate them about their new medication and minor lifestyle changes that benefit their overall health. We educate our aides, our pts and their families. Nurses become overwhelmed, we can all understand that, but that may lead to unintentional negligence. The "walkie talkie" that you got in report was "quiet all day" is now lying on the floor at 2:00AM. He's in respiratory distress, cyanotic and sats in the 70's. You transfer him to ICU hooked up to 02. How do you explain in court that you last saw him at 7:00, during changes of shift and got so caught up with your more "critical" pts and med pass and charting and dropping foley cath to do a thorough head to toe assessment. No documentation and last set of vitals taken at 7. Signs of PE that could have been caught by the nurse and properly tx. Therapeutic communication should be incorporated into the initial head to toe assement, that allows the pt to feel comfortable and open up about his symptoms and allows the nurse to focus her assessment and come up with the most effective treatment for that particular pt. It also allows the nurse to find out what the pt has tried idependently and edudate them on minor lifestyle changes thatay have a major effect on their overall health. Nurses should never be so "busy" that they are cutting corners in the care they provide to their pts or their assessments. You only benefit yourself and in the end get burned. Pts know a "good" nurse because there arent many nurses that still attempt to provide care for the whole pt.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Why ever take a compliment about being a good nurse "with a grain of salt?" At that moment in time you made a positive difference in a life.
You are conveniently leaving out the part about my acceptance of these compliments with an attitude of gratitude.
Anyhow, I take most patient compliments with a grain of salt because my validation as a person or a nurse is not dependent upon them. My self-confidence does not hinge on what others think of me. And once we reach adulthood, no person is responsible for the feelings of others.
I rarely believe anything my patients say of a complimentary nature. This is because, as criminal forensic patients, they are usually trying to manipulate me or get something out of me.
You are conveniently leaving out the part about my acceptance of these compliments with an attitude of gratitude.
Anyhow, I take most patient compliments with a grain of salt because my validation as a person or a nurse is not dependent upon them. My self-confidence does not hinge on what others think of me. And once we reach adulthood, no person is responsible for the feelings of others.
Oh, I don't know. I have one elderly gentleman with dementia who's wonderful for my ego.
He tells me "You're pretty. I could fall in love with you."
In the ER being thanked or told you are a good nurse is rare I guess due to the nature of the unit. Treat them and Street them is our motto. I however have had patients and their families come to me out in the public and tell me thank you and what a good nurse I am. That is awesome it has made me know on the worst shift I do make a difference and do my job I don't need to hear it.
My current group of patients tell me this, of course they are in elem school and probably want something! LOL!
I have been told I'm a good nurse several times at past jobs. A retired nurse was admitted to the LTC I worked at and told me often that she thought I was a good nurse. Her son in law (a doctor) also told me the same thing once. I think of her and her SIL as the biggest compliments, because she knew what a nurse did and went through on a daily basis.
I recently got accepted to grad school. One of my patients families found out and made a point to tell me how excited they are for me. They said "You are going to make an amazing nurse practitioner." That meant a lot to me.
Farawyn
12,646 Posts
Cani I love you.