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.

[Bob Loblaw]

Discharging your pt that came in bad, really bad.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Patient education.. especially to those I know are listening.

As many others have posted - bathing. Nothing can make you feel brand new like getting clean. It may only last for a short time, but for that time, sick or not, my patient feels better.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

And, I love the team effort of getting a STEMI off to the cath lab in 20 minutes. What a rush!

Yeah, this. I can do stemis all day long. Dog pile on the rabbit. "Going to the cath lab" sung to the tune of "going to a go-go". Dontcha wanna go?

[dah doh, BSN, RN]

Getting them from near death to leaving the unit alive 😊!

Teaching...patients, families, new grads, nursing students, residents, doctors 😳!

[CBlover, BSN, RN]

My most favorite is the adrenaline-rush situations where you have to think and act fast. Doc is saying, "I need 2mg of Versed IV NOW"

I like IVs too and I like accessing port's. It seems the more you do those kinds of things, the better you get, and the more fun it gets.

[champagnesupeRNova]

I LOVE re-taping ETTs. I know that sounds weird, but nothing is more satisfying than when your baby is constantly de-satting, then you re-tape their ETT and you can magically wean their FiO2 considerably.

Also:

-IV starts and drawing cultures

-Giving baths, especially a first bath. In the NICU sometimes the baby is 3-4 weeks old and has never had one.

-Re-doing a PICC line dressing so it's all nice and occlusive

-Helping a parent take their baby out for skin-to-skin care for the first time

[DowntheRiver]

IM injections are my forte but ear lavages really take the cake. It is so rewarding and instantly satisfying when a huge chunk of wax build-up comes out of someone's ear and all of a sudden they can hear again.

[Farawyn]

IM injections are my forte but ear lavages really take the cake. It is so rewarding and instantly satisfying when a huge chunk of wax build-up comes out of someone's ear and all of a sudden they can hear again.

Yes, please!

[Aurora77]

I love starting IVs too.

This will sound weird and very few people will get it, but I like post mortem care. I love supporting the families and then respectfully preparing my patient for his or her next stop in the funeral home. There is something so special about caring for a person at the end of their life.

[VANurse2010]

I like inserting lines and tubes in general (even rectal tubes), especially when I get it after others' multiple failed attempts.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I love therapeutic hypo- and normothermia. I love seeing those temps come down, knowing that their brain likes it. Extra love if I was the one to suggest putting a pt on the protocol.

I love explaining all our gadgets to family members. The ICU is a scary setting, and I like explaining what all of our equipment does to help the pt.

I love being able to give family pieces of good news.

I love bed baths--getting a pt nice and clean, on fresh, cool sheets. LOVE it.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

I lke anything where I get to use my brains rather than my body! I like doing physical assessments, and admissions, understanding pathophys, pharmacology and when to call the Dr for new orders etc. I like spending time with my patients, meeting new people and learning from them.