Published
In the past six weeks, only two nurses have thanked me sincerely for doing a good job for them at the end of our shifts together. I stopped in my tracks and was so pleased and moved that I almost cried.
Do you thank your nursing assistant at the end of the day? If not, start now and watch the difference it makes. Look him or her right in the eye and mean it! Your assistant will go home that night feeling it was all worth it. She'll probably tell her husband and kids that she had a great day all because of your sincere gratitude.
"Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the gratefully and appreciating heart." Henry Clay
Thank you for reading this!
Christine
I'm just a student, but I try to say thanks to everyone for anything they do to help me. There's so much to learn from everyone! But beyond that, it's just common courtesy. You thank the stranger that holds a door open for you, the cashier at the grocery store, the person who hands out your food at the drive-thru, etc. Why not the person who is working with you day after day?
I wonder how many docs thank the nurses?
I'm just a student, but I try to say thanks to everyone for anything they do to help me. There's so much to learn from everyone! But beyond that, it's just common courtesy. You thank the stranger that holds a door open for you, the cashier at the grocery store, the person who hands out your food at the drive-thru, etc. Why not the person who is working with you day after day?I wonder how many docs thank the nurses?
Zero, that I can ever recall. I don't really expect them to, either, though - I am not working for them.
I'm just a student, but I try to say thanks to everyone for anything they do to help me. There's so much to learn from everyone! But beyond that, it's just common courtesy. You thank the stranger that holds a door open for you, the cashier at the grocery store, the person who hands out your food at the drive-thru, etc. Why not the person who is working with you day after day?I wonder how many docs thank the nurses?
actually, i can honestly say i have been thanked by quite a few doctors. when i worked in the ER, they would say thank you often. when i worked in endoscopy, it was a mixed bag... now in the hospital on GI m/s, most of the residents and attendings are lovely... of course there is your occasional grouchy doc or god like surgeon... but for the most part, they're awesome.
there is a pediatrician that makes rounds sometimes (bc we have pts who are 16ish occasionally) and she will hold the door for you, actually say excuse me, answer the call lights by saying "this is sarah, can i help?" and actually do anything you need to help... one time she wrote me a note in the chart saying "thank you for taking such great care of this patient for me!" i was like omg! it makes me want to move to peds, just so i can work with her more.
and there's a GI attending who i see everyday, i always have his patients for some reason, and he says thank you too.... and calls me pee wee (i dunno if he can't remember my name, or if he thinks i'm small).
i've had good luck with physicians. there's only been two to ever bite my head off.... and in 7 years of health care--that's a good thing!
I thank them often, but I don't know about every shift.On the flip side, CNAs, do you thank your nurses daily?
Good point! If a nurse helps me with ANYTHING, I thank her. I even thanked a nurse who pulled me aside in private and said, "May I critique you on your technique..." I thanked her for not doing so in front of the patient and her family, and I thanked her for the opportunity to learn.
Yes, we are all paid to come in and do our shift, but acknowledgement of a job well done is important. However, I think it would sound condescending of me to thank a nurse for doing her job. So, the answer is yes and no and I do so when it feels right.
HonestRN
454 Posts
I thank them frequently. Always thank them when they go above and beyond or when we have a trying day however I have never been thanked by an aide.