So...What Kind of Nursing Task Do You LIKE?

Nurses General Nursing

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We've got a really good thread going on the kinds of nursing tasks we hate, so I thought I'd throw this one out there to get people talking about the kinds they actually enjoy doing.

For me it was IVs. I stunk at them for the first couple of years after I got out of school because I didn't have much of a chance to start them in the LTCs I worked in. But when I got into acute care, I didn't have a choice but to learn, and within a year I was getting calls from the ICU to come down and start an IV in someone they couldn't get a line in. Frequent flyers would actually request me by name to start their IVs because I could do it quickly and on the first try. I don't know why I had so much luck with the hard sticks, when sometimes I'd miss a big plump one in the hand; there was also the occasional shift where I wasn't "in the zone" and couldn't hit a barn door with a two-by-four. We all have those days. But I sure miss holding a 20-gauge angiocath in my hand and sliding that baby in smoothly and effortlessly. :yes:

Specializes in Behavioral Health.
Admissions. I like knowing everything about the patient, coordinating care and teaching them something new.

Tell you what. I'll do all your discharges and you can do all my admits - you don't even have to take them, just do all the charting and screening and handling of packets and brochures and signing of authorizations... I hate that stuff. I'll sit and talk about advanced directives until the cows come home, but I hate giving people the brochure like I'm trying to get them into a time share.

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Specializes in LTC, med/surg, hospice.

-Starting IVs (love me some blood return)

-Foleys

-End of shift report

-Giving IV pain meds

-Wound care (not ALL of them)

-Post mortem care

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Ear wax irrigation. It used to gross me out but like the rest of you, it became gratifying to have all these huge chunks of wax come pouring out. AMAZING how much of that stuff could fit in one ear canal.

Lancing abscesses. The bigger and grodier, the better. Popthatzit.com is one of my favorite sites. It can be yours too.

Newborn art sticks. I'm not great at it yet, but it is soooo gratifying to hit it without too much digging and get the blood you need.

Also, newborn PKUs. It is a matter of pride for me to get 5 drops perfectly aligned on 5 circles. Bambambambambam.

In NP school, learning to suture. That was so much fun. Like, I literally didn't want to stop when it was time to stop. But I couldn't really carry the pig's foot home with me, either.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

When I was in school, all of us students had to take turns being the bed-bound patient being turned and positioned, so we can know what it feels like.

Knowing which little adjustments to make that make a big difference in comfort, where to place that extra support or tip that hip or shoulder 'just so'....Very satisfying!

By the way, in all my years as a nurse I never had to irrigate one single ear!

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Specializes in NICU.

I like putting NG tubes in, seeing all that stomach gunk come flowing right out is exciting! Also blood work/IV starts...something exhilarating about seeing that flashback 😜

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Specializes in Pediatric.

Doing admissions. Especially when I get a great report from the facility they're being transferred from. Even better if its a slower night and I can dig through the admit paperwork, piece the pieces together, and get everything set up for success for the next shift.

Charting.

Investigation paperwork (falls, etc). Or any paperwork that requires multiple steps. Maybe it appeals to my OCD side, lol.

Care planning

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Specializes in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.
I really like nipping babies. Most of the girls in orientation complain about it because feeding them can take 30 minutes.... But once I got the hang of feeding babies with nipping problems, I really liked it.

Hours later I see what autocorrect did to me... No, I'm not going around biting babies.

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Drawing labs off a central line. Especially if they are times draws. Our phlebotomy staff are just horrible at doing times draws or stat draws.

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I sure am glad "it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round!"

Some of you are seriously sick! (joking!)

I just realized that I used to do the majority of my cathing (bladder) with my left hand....but I am right handed! Just kind of odd.

Because your right (stronger) hand was in there holding everything open!

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Popthatzit.com is one of my favorite sites. It can be yours too.

That it is, my friend. That.It.Is.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Also, newborn PKUs. It is a matter of pride for me to get 5 drops perfectly aligned on 5 circles. Bambambambambam.

OMGosh, me too!! I was SOOOO awesome at the PKU test. They were things of beauty.

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Specializes in Tele, Interventional Pain Management, OR.
Difficult IV starts in little veins-- I love finessing a 22G into a tiny little vein. I can miss huge veins all day long but I have a knack for the tiny ones. Go figure.

Teaching...especially new Coumadin. I love to explain the overlap of Heparin and Coumadin.

Foleys (female)---the more challenging the better. Nothing more satisfying than hitting "liquid gold" on the first try. However, I REALLY dislike difficult male foley caths...I hate that feeling of resistance and the catheter bending. I'm a female but it makes me hurt.

Trouble shooting anything---figuring a way to use something in an unusual way. One of my favorite adaptations was an irrigation syringe I created by attaching a foley cath to a cath tipped syringe. I needed to irrigate a deeply tunneling wound and it worked perfectly.

Taking off complicated chemo orders --back in the day, we did them on paper and used a bunch of different colored pens. It might take an hour to take off one set but when you were done it was so satisfying to make sense of a confusing regimen.

Setting up the tubing for the above mentioned chemo regimens.

Assisting w/ bedside procedures--- anticipating the needs of the person doing the procedure.

Sharing tricks of the trade w/ co-workers

Teaching new nurses and students.

Shaving---by far my favorite thing. Such a little thing can make such a huge difference!

Comfort care

Post-mortem care

Suggesting orders to an MD and not only having him/her order what you suggested but thanking you for thinking of it.

Along those lines---I love working w/ co-workers who realize that everyone makes an important contribution and all opinions are given merit. That's when the patients have the best outcomes.

Connecting w/ that "difficult" patient --->> finding that little something that makes them smile. Even better when you get them to open up to you and you find out that they really aren't "difficult" at all. They've just been going through some *****y stuff.

This--the part about difficult patients.

I am a mere student nurse but...whenever I hear about a "difficult" patient in report, I'll be darned if I can't establish a rapport with him/her and implement a plan of care. I think 15 years of customer service-related jobs helps me here, haha.

I take pride in working effectively with these patients. Of course I don't have a full patient load so it's different from an actual nurse. I completely acknowledge this. But I truly believe that all of my patients deserve an objective chance before I decide that they're "difficult."

So to get to the point of this thread: I love working with the previous shift's "difficult" patients. Often, I can make it work. I can't wait to become an RN in December (gotta pass NCLEX first, haha).

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