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

Published

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:

the best is when all my initial assessments have been charted and 0900 meds done by 1100 even better, 1000 (that is rare)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg, Telemetry, Mom Baby, Hospice, Rehab, LTC.

Wound care, IM injections, patient and family education, and discharge teaching. I love to educate patients and talk to them about their disease process, life, and current events, lol. Unfortunately at times due to our hectic shift, we nurses don't have enough time to it. ☺

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Registered Nurse.
I used to work with a CNA who would grab me and we would wash down the patients like they were boats, first one side, roll, then the other, tons of soap and buckets of water. The room got soaked and the patient was always squeaky clean. Great feeling.

Bedbaths are some of my favorite care. Haven't done one in a long time....too long.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.

I love, love, LOVE cannulating fistulas. I love feeling that "pop" and seeing the flash. It's so gratifying. Even more fun is cannulating buttonhole sites. You have to remove the scabs from the site before putting the needles in, and the needles come with a little tool just for that purpose. It's so fun to sit there and pick at their scab until it comes off.

And I love it when the patients tell me I don't hurt them. I have a knack for this and I have no idea why. If I knew I would teach everyone. I know the patients really appreciate it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Dressing changes. Nothing more satisfying than nice, pristine, white, labeled and dated dressings.

I also very much enjoy providing care to those facing end of life and to their families.

I like helping post CABG patients start getting past their fears and getting them up to chair for meals, ambulating in the hallway, taking their first shower, learning to clean their incision. Very satisfying.

I like placing Foley catheters.

I love making patients laugh.

I enjoy bonding with the "difficult" family member. Well. I used to. Pretty burned out these days, but it used to satisfy me a lot.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.
I work as a CNA so I don't do all the stuff nurses do, obviously, but I really like the following tasks:

*I actually don't mind cleaning super gnarly poop, mostly because I have a superhuman tolerance for nasty and as a result I get these looks of utter shock and awe from gagging coworkers because I'm wiping, humming, and making chit chat with the patient while some inhuman stench is raping the air.

*Catching a clinical sign or symptom that is important that no one else noticed :)

*Being able to calm and/or connect with a patient that hates almost everyone

*Emptying urinary drainage bags (I know, weird... I think it's because there's nothing subjective about it. When I'm done I can say with confidence that I didn't mess it up, plus I like the clicky noise the foley makes when it locks back into the bag *hahaha!*)

*Putting patients on telemetry, I love getting all the stickies lined up, filling out the telemetry request form and faxing it off :)

*Feeding patients

*When I'm one of the only ones able to understand what a patient is saying who has trouble speaking, it feels awesome to see the frustration melt from the patient's face

*Winning over an abusive/crabby patient to the point that they say, "thank you" and are excited to see you come on shift

*Preparing Blood collection kits (placing the tubes, the gauze, the butterfly, etc. into the baggie and collecting blood when I can get a good stick) :)

*Placing catheters, nothing better than seeing that first bit of pee flow!

*Sending stuff off through the tube system *WHOOOSH*

*Stocking supply carts (not sure if this is a nursing task, but I really like doing it... I can organize things, and again, it's something where I KNOW I did a good job when I'm done lol)

i don't even know you and I love you. I can see how the whole tone of a unit would improve with you around. You make all the difference to us. You are very important. Thank you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I loved pediatric oncology. The emotion risks were great, but there's no satisfaction like beating leukemia in a child and realizing that they've got a rich and full life before them. One patient I cared for as 10-month-old baby now runs three nail salons.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
I loved pediatric oncology. The emotion risks were great, but there's no satisfaction like beating leukemia in a child and realizing that they've got a rich and full life before them. One patient I cared for as 10-month-old baby now runs three nail salons.

That is AWESOME. :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Family Medicine, Tele/Cardiac, Camp.

Education! After recently giving it a great deal of thought, I've come to the conclusion that I absolutely adore the education component of nursing.

I remember one time being in a patient's room as the doctor explained something. The patient and family thanked him and - when he left - they started stifling laughter obviously clueless to what he was saying. The patient - a man in his 60's, turned to me and smiling, puzzled, between clenched teeth asked me, "Can you tell me what the hell he was talking about?" The family and I cracked up and I ended up explaining his recent surgery, abnormal heart rhythm, and medical plan to him with the aid of the wipe-off board in the room.

I've had other patients ask me, "So...could you translate that. Into English please?" or just, "Could you explain that better?" I love being the translator between the doctor and patient.

My favorite was being a camp nurse and the opportunities that arose there. We had one extremely bright and engaged boy who was 15. We had recently gotten an AED and I was testing it. The boy was in there for a little bit of heat exhaustion and while he lie there with water and an ice pack he asked me how the AED worked. I gave him a brief explanation of how the shocks jump-start your heart.

He asked how. I tried to explain to him the electrical pathway through the heart. He asked how the electrical impulses made the heart beat and about how that translated to what EKG's looked like. I asked him, "how detailed do you want me to get here?" He asked me to go into as much detail as possible. So there I was drawing the heart, the electrical pathway, explaining calcium, sodium, and potassium gradients, and dissecting the components of an EKG with him. He perked right up, his eyes got wide, he declared the entire thing incredible and amazing, and was able to explain it all back to me.

That was awesome.

I also really liked educating patients during clinicals and really look forward to more opportunities to do so as a NP once I get my first NP job. :)

Thanks for a great thread. It's always so good to read something positive.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion