most and least favorite DX to care for?

[MollyJ]

In general, what is your favorite diagnosis to take care of?

I liked Tricyclic OD's (cause they could really crash sneaky and fast); unstable GI bleeds, acute respiratory failure, acute asthmatics and ectopic pregnancies. You could say I don't mind a mess. Of course, I also like happy endings.

Least favorite:

OD's on stupid meds; hysterical young women and teen girls; almost anybody related to a prominent or rich person or, god forbid, the rich person themself; drunks.

[Cascadians]

Enjoy helping: CHF; cancer pts; stroke recovery; hip replacement recovery; accident recovery; hospice.

No fun: COPD; wandering combative dangerous Sundowner dementias that wreak havoc every few seconds; belligerent family members; trach suctioning every few minutes with COPD pt in throes of pneumonia who sprays sticky green and brown globs like a power fan no matter what equipment is used.

The worst: forced isolation with the screaming projectile vomiting blood spraying patient just wheeled into negative pressure room by paramedics fully suited, no isolation cart available, and Doctor rushes down from another floor and says "We had him on 7C for two weeks and ran every imaginable test with no definitive results before he escaped." "Oh and by the way the nurses on 7C are all out sick now with the same thing but we have no idea what it is."

[kids]

Originally posted by Cascadians

The worst: forced isolation with the screaming projectile vomiting blood spraying patient just wheeled into negative pressure room by paramedics fully suited, no isolation cart available, and Doctor rushes down from another floor and says "We had him on 7C for two weeks and ran every imaginable test with no definitive results before he escaped." "Oh and by the way the nurses on 7C are all out sick now with the same thing but we have no idea what it is."

SO WHAT DID IT TURN OUT TO BE????

[LilgirlRN, ADN, RN]

I'm an ER nurse, we're supersticious, so I'm not gonna say what my favorite or least favorite is..they'll both show up in multitudes if I do!!

[joannep]

Spent 15 years working in the OR, loved the adrenaline of the place, especially multiple trauma pts, cardiac cases and transplants of any kind.

I now work in dialysis, which I love.

I don't find the patient's demanding or whinging, probably cause they are not as bad as the surgeons in the OR.

I hate patients that put on too much fluid between dialysis sessions, and are generally not motivated to participate actively in their care.

I love the really motivated ones. They always seem to get a kidney from their family or a friend, so they are just great people.

I hate psych patients on dialysis and drug addicts on dialysis.

[Sleepyeyes]

Kaknurse, I love your quote "Smile.....It makes people wonder what you've been up to!"

Fave dx: COPD, CHF, knee & hip replacements (or "Why I'm in LTC")

Least Faves: ETOH/drug-seekers, legal threats, and family members who won't let us give pain or psych meds to confused residents who need them.

[Cascadians]

We never found out. After we both got extremely ill, and our manager insisted on a "Doctor's note" if we didn't come back to work right away, we quit. Other reasons contributed, of course. The final straw, besides doubling our patient load and constantly floating us throughout 4 hospitals / all floors with no orientation whatsoever to 'foreign' destinations?

The cost-cutting maniac found catheter bags that saved her 3¢ each. They did not close properly. So we came on night shift (darker halls/rooms) and had an enormous job mopping (no housekeeper on nights) every room, slippery stinky. Dangerous! Several patients fell.

No, she wouldn't go back to the catheter bags that closed! Unsafe working conditions. Insanity. Good-bye :)

It took 2 months of bed rest, terrible trouble breathing, before we recovered from whatever the isolation patient had. They never did figure it out.

[LilgirlRN, ADN, RN]

They have hospitals in enchanted lands?

[Cascadians]

Yes, they even have a news-worthy nurse-striking hospital in this beautiful lovely emerald rolling land

[Rottie1]

In the OR we don't do much long term care to form an opinion of best and worst dx to care for. But in the OR I love to do Craniotomies! Any thing where I can see the exposed brain is really awesome. If I had to choose a dx, I also like to see wounds, when they come to the OR for debridement on a regular basis, and we can see the extent of the progress.

worst would be psych, I also don't have any use for psych patients. Not to mention in the cardiac surgery, mostly because I would rather not deal with the cardiac surgeons.

[egmillard]

My fav patients are those having just had a heart transplant, a happy time, and pretty cool people, and patients with the LVAD heartmate, very interesting. People with electrophysiology problems also

My worst, demanding and difficult patients and their families, the condition doesnt matter. The sort of patient or family that gives you a big headache at the end of the day

[janmae1950]

The post about the foreign bodies in the rectal area reminded me of when my sister worked in the emergency room of a local hospital.

One evening a teenager around 14-15 was brought in to the ER by his parents and they were obviously very embarrassed by the trip. Seems their son got a vibrator stuck up his rear end. To make matters worse, he was unable to turn it off so it was a-buzzin' for some time till the staff was able to work on him.

[Uptoherern, RN]

LEAST favorite; anyone who still cries and calls for "mommy!" past the age of 14. don't care what the diagnosis is...

Favorite: probably fresh mi's in the er...getting them set up for cath lab, rush, rush. and then hearing that they've been discharged home after the hospital stay.