Thank you, nurses

[laurah4k]

My grandpa passed away this evening at a hospital. He had been experiencing difficulties with his liver until a few weeks ago, when it stopped working all together. The care he recieved from the nurses on his unit were kind and considerate. The attended not only to his needs, but made sure his family surrounding him were comfortable as well. I doubt Ill ever see those nurses again, so I just wanted to say thank you to all of the nurses out there who take their time and show honor and respect to their patients. You DO make a difference.

[Qbert]

Appreciation by family and patients is always appreciated by nurses. We become a part of your lives in a very deep and profound way. I've had someone in public recognize and thank me for taking care of her from over a year before. It really meant a lot to me.

May God bless you and your family and may I offer my condolences for your loss.

[anurseatlast]

I am sorry for your loss. It is always difficult to lose a loved one. I hope that you have many wonderful memories to keep him in your heart.

I am glad you had nurses who cared for your family as well. I, too, am grateful for all the nurses who supported my when I cared for my mom when she had cancer. They were fabulous - both the ones in the treatment center and hospice. They made a huge difference to me. Even 6 years later, I remember word for word some of the things they said to me. So thank you to all you nurses who care for dying patients and the families.

[criticalRN10]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'll bet they would really appreciate a note given to their boss or the hospital though for sure :)

[Brea LPN]

This is what nursing is all about. A simple thank you makes our jobs worthwhile.

[JSlovex2]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'll bet they would really appreciate a note given to their boss or the hospital though for sure :)

this is soo true. not that i get chewed out a lot or anything, but the few times i have had "encounters" with my supervisor, i have thought about all the patients who have sincerely told me how much they appreciated me, how big of a difference i made to them during such a rough time, how they'd never forget me, etc., and i think, "she never sees THAT side of me." it was enough for ME to hear them say "thank you" or "it's people like you that make my time here more bearable" but i would definitely appreciate my supervisor acknowledging the impact i have on the patients - which can only happen if the patients speak up. no, i'm not being a hypocrite. when i was younger (and poor) i had a dentist remove my wisdom teeth for a little bit of nothing ($) and i sent flowers to him and his staff. i have even gone online and sent kind words about employees at pizza joints (literally) because it's sad, but true - people seem to only reach out and acknowledge people who have done them wrong and made them angry - when the people who deserve it are the ones who did right.

a short, kind note will go a long way.

[Old.Timer]

I worked oncology early on in my career, I was young. I was often asked by my friends, especially those working in the business fields etc, how/why I did that.

It was without a doubt, my most rewarding nursing job. Indded, you do have an opportunity to make very difficult circumstances just a bit more bearable by very simple acts.

Thirty years later, I still remember so many of the patients and their names, as well as their families. I had one specific note from a daughter that I only recently got rid of during a move.

I am sorry for your loss. It is difficult. Please consider writing a note to the staff and also individual ones to any that very especially spectatcular. Make sure they go to leadership also. If, given the choice down the road, you would choose to use the hospital services again because of the nursing care received, please let them know that. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

[rnccf2007, BSN, RN]

So sorry for your loss. The death of a loved one is very hard, as you know. Before I became a nurse, I remember the great care that was given to my father by the nurses when he was dying of cancer. I think that is why I eventually became a nurse. Strangely, some of my most rewarding experiences in nursing have been helping patients die with dignity and comfort, as well as guiding and comforting their family members. Thank you and God bless you.

[asopko]

I absolutely agree. Our nurses are so underappreciated for all of the hard work and time they put in. I hope they know that they absolutely matter, even when it feels like no one cares. :redbeathe

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for your kind words. As stated above, a brief note to hospital management about your grandpa's nurses would be great.

[buenavidaRN]

I am so sorry for your loss.

A thank you note to the staff is always appreciated and very meaningful. I know I was not involved in your Grandpa's care, but thank you for the 'thanks.' It is always nice to know that what you are doing is appreciated. I still think about many of my patients and their families. We, as nurses, have just a brief moment to share care, compassion, empathy and respect ... that is one thing I love about my job.

May you find comfort in your memories.

[middleager]

Last week we were at a bar having drinks and dinner with some friends. One of my friends is dating an oncology nurse. Someone made some flipant comment about all of the patients that she cares for who pass away along the lines of she is sort of like the angel of death and he better be good to her. You could tell it hit her deep when she quietly responded, we do save some of them. My wife and I talked about what a tough tough job she had and what an amazing person it would take to work in a position where a fair number of people whom you cared for were not going to make it, and you knew it going in and did it anyway.

The fact that a person can work in this environment and hold on to the fact that they made a bad situation, often the worst times of peoples lives a little better...says alot about them. I lost both of my parents within three months of each other, both were in the hospital(s) about a week each and I can say out of the dozens of nurses we had contact with, there was only one that was absolutely not exceptional, she was Russian, Ukrainian, something and her level of compassion just wasn's up to par with her co-workers. I made a somewhat sizable donation to the hospital where both started their journey from, with one caveat, the nurses were to decide how the money was spent, they were to purchase whatever they felt would make thier day a little easier. It could be loungers (which they probably would never get to use), capacinno maker, equipment, whatever they wanted. Guess what they picked, reclining chairs that converted to flat beds on wheels so they could wheel them into patients rooms for family to sleep on if they stayed the night etc. They had been dragging regular old recliners in for them. If you want to know what I think of nurses...as a group you won't find any better people anywhere. So let me add my thanks for all you do.