Nurses: How often do you...

PediLove2147, BSN, RN · May 1, 2013

1-How often do you actually see people die? And share your experiences with that if you will please.

Very rarely. Since I started 2 years ago we have had probably 3 people die. They were CMO patients and it was expected though. I was there for only 1 of them.

2- What kinds of diseases and sicknesses do your patients have? You can just name a certain few that you see most often?

We are a post-surgical/neuro/trauma floor so we see a little of each of those.

3-Are most patients friendly to you?

Most are but like in any line of work there are rude people.

4- What's the grossest thing you have to deal with being a nurse?

Vomit really grosses me out, like another poster said, it makes me want to vomit.

5- What are the most comfortable scrubs and shoes?

I wear Urbane scrub bottoms mostly, I have a few pairs of Grey's Anatomy. I am not picky on tops, whatever is cheap. For shoes, I have been wearing sneakers these last few months. My Danskos have a squeak that drives me insane.

aspiringparamedic3 · May 3, 2013

I'm a nursing student and I'm starting in the Fall... I just have a few questions about being a nurse.
1-How often do you actually see people die? And share your experiences with that if you will please.
2- What kinds of diseases and sicknesses do your patients have? You can just name a certain few that you see most often.
3-Are most patients friendly to you?
4- What's the grossest thing you have to deal with being a nurse?
5- What are the most comfortable scrubs and shoes?
In case I don't reply to all of the comments, I want to thank you for your time and effort to answer these questions... I appreciate it very, very much. I'm sure all answers will be super helpful so thank you! God Bless!

Hello there! I just started nursing school a month ago, and I'm from Singapore. I have friends who work as a nurse, telling me that death is quite common in wards. Diseases and sickness ranges from heart diseases to just infections. And I would say, most of the patients will not be appreciative of what we've done. But of course there are ones that will make our day!

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · May 3, 2013

1. I have been through my fair share of codes, but in the 2+ years of being a nurse, I have only seen a couple of patients die. I think it depends greatly on where you work as a nurse.

2. Again, this depends on where you work. I used to work on a cardiac floor, so we saw a lot of patients with CHF exacerbation, chest pain, atrial fibrillation and electrolyte imbalances. In addition, we also saw a lot of patients with respiratory problems (COPD exacerbation, pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, status asthmaticus), renal problems, DKA/HHNKS, acute CVA/TIA, altered mental status, GI bleeds, SIRS/sepsis, alcohol intoxication and drug overdose. Now I work in the ER so we literally see anything and everything, from patients complaining of a stubbed toe to a pediatric patient coming in with asthma exacerbation and upon assessment becomes a CPS case to a patient coming in via EMS in full arrest with CPR in progress.

3. In my experience, yes, most of them are friendly to me.

4. Hmm, grossest thing? Respiratory secretions are one thing, but I will never forget a patient that I had who had an ileostomy with a ton of output, but what made it bad was the GI bleed they had on top of it. The bag had to be emptied multiple times per shift and it smelled HORRIBLE. It was to the point where I could actually TASTE the odor if I tried to breathe through my mouth, and I couldn't hold my breath long enough so that didn't work, either. I smelled like it the rest of the day and the smell went through the entire unit. It was horrible, but I could only imagine how the patient felt.

5. Koi is my favorite brand. I also like Wink for the pockets, but they are a lot rougher compared to the Koi brand. As for shoes, my favorites are Alegria and Danskos.

CrazyGoonRN · May 3, 2013

1. I have been through my fair share of codes, but in the 2+ years of being a nurse, I have only seen a couple of patients die. I think it depends greatly on where you work as a nurse.
2. Again, this depends on where you work. I used to work on a cardiac floor, so we saw a lot of patients with CHF exacerbation, chest pain, atrial fibrillation and electrolyte imbalances. In addition, we also saw a lot of patients with respiratory problems (COPD exacerbation, pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, status asthmaticus), renal problems, DKA/HHNKS, acute CVA/TIA, altered mental status, GI bleeds, SIRS/sepsis, alcohol intoxication and drug overdose. Now I work in the ER so we literally see anything and everything, from patients complaining of a stubbed toe to a pediatric patient coming in with asthma exacerbation and upon assessment becomes a CPS case to a patient coming in via EMS in full arrest with CPR in progress.
3. In my experience, yes, most of them are friendly to me.
4. Hmm, grossest thing? Respiratory secretions are one thing, but I will never forget a patient that I had who had an ileostomy with a ton of output, but what made it bad was the GI bleed they had on top of it. The bag had to be emptied multiple times per shift and it smelled HORRIBLE. It was to the point where I could actually TASTE the odor if I tried to breathe through my mouth, and I couldn't hold my breath long enough so that didn't work, either. I smelled like it the rest of the day and the smell went through the entire unit. It was horrible, but I could only imagine how the patient felt.
5. Koi is my favorite brand. I also like Wink for the pockets, but they are a lot rougher compared to the Koi brand. As for shoes, my favorites are Alegria and Danskos.

Have you tried the wink 4 stretch? They aren't rough like the regular and they have all the pockets :-)

benegesserit · May 3, 2013

1-How often do you actually see people die? And share your experiences with that if you will please.

I work in LTC. I have cared for a number of patients while they were actively dying, and have pronounced many deaths (RNs can pronounce in my state, this isn't true everywhere). On one occasion I was the one who walked in and found someone dead. However, I have yet to actually be present at the time of death.

2- What kinds of diseases and sicknesses do your patients have? You can just name a certain few that you see most often.

90% of them have dementia or other cognitive impairment (with the other 10% having serious mobility impairments). Beyond that - diabetes, hypertension, CHF, COPD, Parkinson's, history of hip fractures, stroke, and so forth that impair mobility. In other words, typical geriatric chronic stuff.

3-Are most patients friendly to you?

I have yet to meet a patient who is 100% unpleasant. I find that most are reasonably friendly most of the time. Some get in moods, but will be fine if you approach them at a different time or in a different manner. With dementia, many get combative with cares. But they're generally ok outside of that.

4- What's the grossest thing you have to deal with being a nurse?

Getting hit in the face with a vomit-soaked blanket - by a CNA (accidentally), not a patient! Taking stool samples with a disposable spoon always skeeves me a bit, even though the spoon is getting tossed afterwards. I've had other things that were quite shocking (bad wounds, that sort of thing), but not "gross", really.

5- What are the most comfortable scrubs and shoes?

I'm not particularly picky. I generally wear walmart scrubs (and have yet to find a pocket configuration that works better for me), and haven't really tried any of the classier brands. I have a feeling I'll have to make my own if I want to combine nicer/more professional patterns with pocket design that works for me. My current shoes are a pair of relatively minimalist track shoes, and I find them more comfortable than the NurseMates I wore previously.