I Need A Caring Moment!!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2005

This is off topic and not going to help you. But I think caring moments are sponteneous and can't be created or faked. What a dreadful assignment.

Sorry, I hope some answers you more appropriately. Good luck!

TINAMARIE28 · Jun 10, 2005

I totally agree with you, but we have to "create" something or we could possibly fail the class. And they want us to go the "second mile". I am thinking of baking brownies for the nursing staff on my floor to put in their breakroom. That will leave me 3 to go. They will probably say that wasn't the "second mile" Maybe if they are made from scratch? :chuckle

grinnurse, RN · Jun 10, 2005

Hello-

Is this supposed to be from your actual clinical experiences or just "what" you could do that would be percieved as "going the extra mile"?

One of my "extra mile" moments in clinical happened 3rd semester. I was working with a pt that had just had an ileostomy and a colostomy put in b/c she had polio (from age 17), had breast ca (which was terminal) and a whole host of other med. problems. We were having a hard time finding good veins to put her iv in so the doc decided to put in a central line. Her family was not there at the time and I didn't want my pt to be by herself b/c she had also been a little depressed (imagine that), so, when the doc came in to do the procedure, I stayed right there with my pt., holding her hand, and talking to her. She was so greatful for me staying with her. She told me that not one single nurse had shown her compassion while in the hosp. like I did. She told her family about it when they got there and b/f she was discharged, her sons brought me a bouquet of flowers. That was the day that felt like a nurse and knew that nursing was for me indeed. Just so happens (I didn't know it at the time) that the pt was an aunt of one of my peers and when she passed a few months later, the family gave my peer a thankyou note to give to me from that moment.

I don't know if this is the type of situation that you are looking for or not and if it has to be your own experience. Hope this helps in that you can look at some of the situations that you have been in and identify what a "caring moment" is to you.

Good luck with your journals!!

dave1117 · Jun 10, 2005

But if I had that assignment and I did not have a "moment" to speak of I would go to the library, sappy book section and find a "caring moment" and build off of that...Not plagorisism but fiction...all the way.

I can not imagine why some nursing schools insist on making these types of assignments. While they may teach some empathy and compassion, these emotions as mentioned before are quite spontaneous and recreating them is quite difficult.

Efforts in futility...

Dratz · Jun 10, 2005

I tend to agree with the poster who said that "caring moments" should be spontaneous but here are a few ideas for you.

1. Not sure what type of patients you have but, can you collect small teddy bears and donate them to pediatrics (sick kids)?

2. Donate blood.

3. Clean the staff room, place a nice table cloth on the table, fresh flowers, candles ....spiff it up nicely so the staff can enjoy a nicer lunchbreak.

4. Massage a nurses shoulders during her break.

5. Thank you card for staff who helped you out.

6. You said the act of caring has to be for staff or patients? Why not fellow students....Can you mentor someone on something you are really good at?

7. What about "after care" when the patient goes home. Can you make them some small reminder cards on their treatment? Phone number cards for people they may need to contact after they leave? Make up a "going home" package for them to take with them when they are discharged.

I hope these ideas help. I am not even in school yet, so I have no real ideas if these are plausable for your project. But just some of my thoughts. :)

RNinRubySlippers, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2005

Well I must say, you MUST have had a caring moment or two! You are a nursing student afterall! I feel that just "being there" for my patients and thier families is going the extra mile. I have sat at the bedside adn watched a personal family slide show witha palliative pt (whom i adored) and her daughter. That was so touching. They were both glad I was able to spend the time with them, and bond. It created a trusting relationship and one of the most memorable. As students, we are afforded the luxuary of more time than a practicing RN has. Use it while you have it! I have also followed through woth a patient to an endoscopy appointment, as she was afraid and I felt I could comfort her. She was very greatful. I have spent hours talking with families on how THEY are doing and where appropriate and well recieved gave hugs and support. I also believe in personalizing care to each patient. Create something special for each patient...Like a certain color bedspread for your lil "irish lady" (green) I did this and she adored it! I dunno thre are so many, I could ramble for hours!

Hope you can be reflective adn introspective and come up with something fantastic! Its there!

TINAMARIE28 · Jun 10, 2005

Thanks for the ideas. I never know what my patient's circumstances are until I get on the floor and care for them, and by the next clinical day, they have gone home. I am on the Cardiac unit. You really do have some good ideas. I can't see that my Instructor would say any of your ideas are "to be expected". I think they all go the "second mile" as they put it. Good luck to you in school! Tina

I tend to agree with the poster who said that "caring moments" should be spontaneous but here are a few ideas for you.
1. Not sure what type of patients you have but, can you collect small teddy bears and donate them to pediatrics (sick kids)?
2. Donate blood.
3. Clean the staff room, place a nice table cloth on the table, fresh flowers, candles ....spiff it up nicely so the staff can enjoy a nicer lunchbreak.
4. Massage a nurses shoulders during her break.
5. Thank you card for staff who helped you out.
6. You said the act of caring has to be for staff or patients? Why not fellow students....Can you mentor someone on something you are really good at?
7. What about "after care" when the patient goes home. Can you make them some small reminder cards on their treatment? Phone number cards for people they may need to contact after they leave? Make up a "going home" package for them to take with them when they are discharged.
I hope these ideas help. I am not even in school yet, so I have no real ideas if these are plausable for your project. But just some of my thoughts. :)

SusanJean · Jun 11, 2005

Well I must say, you MUST have had a caring moment or two! You are a nursing student afterall! I feel that just "being there" for my patients and thier families is going the extra mile. I have sat at the bedside adn watched a personal family slide show witha palliative pt (whom i adored) and her daughter. That was so touching. They were both glad I was able to spend the time with them, and bond. It created a trusting relationship and one of the most memorable. As students, we are afforded the luxuary of more time than a practicing RN has. Use it while you have it! I have also followed through woth a patient to an endoscopy appointment, as she was afraid and I felt I could comfort her. She was very greatful. I have spent hours talking with families on how THEY are doing and where appropriate and well recieved gave hugs and support. I also believe in personalizing care to each patient. Create something special for each patient...Like a certain color bedspread for your lil "irish lady" (green) I did this and she adored it! I dunno thre are so many, I could ramble for hours!
Hope you can be reflective adn introspective and come up with something fantastic! Its there!

Ditto on "being there." Each pt in their own way will let you know what they need. I think this assignment is challenging you to go above and beyond the daily routine of nursing and all it involves.

My program has an entire 3 hour class on "caring" we must take prior to any clinical work. (And 8 APA format papers to go along w/ it.) There are many journal articles in nursing and entire books on this subject.

Good luck w/ the assignment.

SJ

MIA-RN1, RN · Jun 11, 2005

I totally agree with you, but we have to "create" something or we could possibly fail the class. And they want us to go the "second mile". I am thinking of baking brownies for the nursing staff on my floor to put in their breakroom. That will leave me 3 to go. They will probably say that wasn't the "second mile" Maybe if they are made from scratch? :chuckle

ffeeding nurses is always a good idea lol The nurses on the floor I did clinical on last semester loved it. but are you sure they want the extra mile for the nurses and not for the patients??

You can borrow one of my caring moments. Little old lady, recovering from some type of surgery, I can't remember what. I went in to help my classmate get the pt into bed as the lady was pretty incontinent and basically there was feces all over the chair and floor.

Cleaned her up, got her in bed, got the SCD's on and she was so upset and embarrassed. My classmate said she was fine, she had it from there and was fine cleaning up the mess by herself, so I took the patient's hand in mine to wish her good night and she held my hand without seeming to want to let go. So I stayed and we talked. Mostly about how she styled her hair lol But it allowed her to focus away from the mess on the floor and brought her out of the patient role for a bit as she told me how she rolled her hair, her arts and crafts projects at home. Finally, it was time to go and I told her and she said "Please will I see you again?" Of course, my heart broke because it was a med-surg floor and being there just once a week I knew she'd be gone by the next time I was there. I told her that I'd be gone for a week and that by the time I got back she'd be home, recovering. I went back at the end of the shift to say goodbye and she was sleeping.

Its the little things that make the extra mile. What about giving a patient a back rub? Students are great for stuff like that because our patient load is much lower than that of the nurses and we have that time. I did a foot and back rub for a patient one night and it was really nice for both of us!

Or when I was doing my nursing home semester, when it was the same patients from week to week, I had several that I 'rounded' on every week whether I was assigned to them or not. I would make a point of stopping to visit, asking after their health, and making small talk. One really was special. I was assigned to her the day her husband died in another part of the hospital and it was such a human experience. I spent a ton of time sitting, hand-holding, and listening. It was something the aids and nurses just wouldn't have as much time to do but I was available to fill in the gap.

Or the man who was on gown-mask-gloves precautions who I just went in and watched tv with him. He died about an hour after I left, but I am glad that I sat and rubbed his shoulders and just was a presence to him. It was hard for the staff to keep going in and out because of all the gowining, gloving, and masking when they were running around. He was needy because he was alone, and scared of being alone.

I am thinking the assignment is made to help you learn and practice to go that extra mile because that is such an important part of the nursing process, although its not officially part of ADPIE. You will find thru the semester you will have many of those moments.

TINAMARIE28 · Jun 11, 2005

We can do our caring moment for the pt., family member, or nurses. When I was at the Nursing home my 1st semester, I had 2 residents that I grew close to. On Valentine's Day I brought them both a litttle stuffed teddy bear holding a little red heart. Thay bothe loved them and asked me to put them on a shelf with their other "special" items.

We have one student this clinical that said her pt soiled herself so she washed the pt's clothes and hung them to dry so that she would have them to wear home. The Instructor told her that was not going the "second mile". that she would expect that out of a nurse. So you see what I am up against! Anyway, yall have some good ideas, keep'em coming. Thank you!...

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Jun 11, 2005

Caring moments can be simple gestures... like the time when you saw your patient shivering and didn't wait to be asked to get an extra blanket. It could have been stroking the hair out of someone's eyes. Maybe another take on the "caring moment" can be the times when you didn't fire back when a patient said something mean and unfeeling that was directed at you. They don't have to be dramatic or traumatic. Look to the simple everyday things that you do.