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

[VivaLasViejas]

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.

[BecomingNursey]

IV's! Especially after 2-3 other RN's have already tried and getting it on the first stick. My favorite place to stick (if they have nothing anywhere else) is the fingers! I've gotten a 20gauge in a patient's 2nd finger! Worked for CT ABD/PELVIS

Working a STEMI, stroke, trauma, head bleed...anything that takes working as a team to get done quickly and efficiently.

And being able to tell exactly what the doc is going to order after assessing the patient. I like to guess the orders before I look at them 75% of the time, I get it right. Working on the percentage. lol

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

I like assisting with procedures, too. I think I would be perfectly happy if there was a role where I was literally just a procedure assistant and followed the intensivist around to every central line placement/chest tube placement/lumbar puncture on the unit. I manage to find my way into most of them because I'm nosy and the person who has the patient usually wants to chart while the details are still fresh, so it's a win/win. If there are multiple people helping, I attempt to strategically place myself so I am closest to the action and have the best view of what is happening.

Almost backfired on me last week when a new chest tube decided to spew fluid everywhere and I missed getting doused in blood by an inch or so, but hey, at least I learned I should probably be wearing a mask with a face shield if my face is going to be less than two feet from the insertion site because I am holding the person over.

[barbaraalford]

I graduate December 2015 from an ADN program in North Charleston, SC.

I am 56 years old. My desire to work in wound care is one that I have thought

about very seriously. I used to work in a Dermatology practice for a few years as a Dermatology

tech. We were trained to do skin biopsies and how to suture and assist with

surgeries. I love cleaning a wound. It is very gratifying to know that you are doing your best

and helping that patient heal. I hope somehow I can get the experience and extra training

I need in order to achieve this desirable goal.

[barbaraalford]

Good luck this upcoming semester.

I also graduate in December.

[elkpark]

I like a lot of the things people have already mentioned (there's nothing like a good bed bath, or a neat, sharp dressing). But --

I can't say I "like" it because it doesn't exist anymore, but what I really miss is shaking down a mercury thermometer. For some reason I can't explain, of all the different things I've done over my career, that has somehow always been when I felt the most "nurse-y."

[Farawyn]

I like a lot of the things people have already mentioned (there's nothing like a good bed bath, or a neat, sharp dressing). But --

I can't say I "like" it because it doesn't exist anymore, but what I really miss is shaking down a mercury thermometer. For some reason I can't explain, of all the different things I've done over my career, that has somehow always been when I felt the most "nurse-y."

Yes!!!

[ambr46]

I love doing patient education at discharge. I don't know why but I actually look forward to doing discharges for that very reason.

[Bobjohnny]

IV's! Especially after 2-3 other RN's have already tried and getting it on the first stick. My favorite place to stick (if they have nothing anywhere else) is the fingers! I've gotten a 20gauge in a patient's 2nd finger! Worked for CT ABD/PELVIS

Yeah, I do that too. However, I typically only do it to people that aren't awake. When I was a wee little nurse one my of coworkers put a 20G in somebody's index finger, and I thought to myself "I wanna be that good one day." I felt my task was accomplished when I got an 18G in the thumb of an (already intubated)overdose and the 3rd year resident asked "You couldn't get something more proximal?" She by the way only had a humeral IO as her only other access. Arms, legs and breasts were all kinds of scarred up. Felt really proud of myself for that one, especially since the attending had hunted me down to ask me to get another IV in her.

[No Stars In My Eyes]

When i was in Home Health I used to love measuring, recording and describing wounds; I took great pride in 'painting' a picture with words.

[Robynaulbury]

I love being in the operating theatre...fascinating....

[ThymeRN]

The best feeling in the world is when I've managed to build a rapport with a schizophrenic patient and they trust me enough to take their medications.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Bless all of you who love bedside care. I like making schedules, interviewing applicants, holding staff meetings, seeing to it that people get good orientations and that staff are kept updated on new equipment, new rules, new procedures; sort of like counseling staff and getting to the bottom of issues, developing a plan of action to address problems, and enjoy resolving problems involving complaints.

I loved working in the OR for C Sections and other surgical emergencies - especially scrubbing. And I used to enjoy wound care.