Have you received memorable cards and gifts from patients and families that made your day? I have always loved to see the cards, flowers, etc that people will send after our patients go home. Especially I like a progress report that shows our caring made a difference!
We may feel like "just another provider" but when we get a little thanks or recognition, for example, "The best unit my mom has been on" etc., it just helps ease the pain of the trials we face and feeling unappreciated.
I know we aren't supposed to take gifts but my supervisor once made an exception. I was caring for a lady in a nursing home and she passed away. Her family gave me a special watch that was made with abelone shell, it was gorgeous. They just liked how I had cared for her in her last days.
This is something that says "thanks" to all of us - and from some of us, to you. It is written as if people with disabilities might have written it, but it seems to apply to any of our nursing experiences:
BEATITUDES FOR SPECIAL PEOPLE
BLESSED ARE YOU who take time to listen to difficult speech, for you
help us to know that if we persevere we can be understood.
BLESSED ARE YOU who walk with us in public places, and ignore the
stares of strangers, for in your friendship we feel good to be
ourselves.
BLESSED ARE YOU who never bid us to "hurry up" and, more blessed,
you who do not snatch our tasks from our hands to do them for us,
for often we need time rather than help.
BLESSED ARE YOU who stand beside us as we enter new and untried
ventures, for our unsureness will be outweighed by the times when we
surprise ourselves and you.
BLESSED ARE YOU who ask for our help and realize our giftedness, for
our greatest need is to be needed.
BLESSED ARE YOU who help us with the graciousness of Christ, for
often we need the help we cannot ask for.
BLESSED ARE YOU when, by all things, you assure us that what makes
us individuals is not our particular disability or difficulty but
our beautiful God-given person-hood which no handicapping condition
can confine.
REJOICE AND BE EXCEEDINGLY GLAD for your understanding and love have
opened doors for us to enjoy life to its full and you have helped us
Specializes in MR Peds, geris, psych, DON,ADON,SSD.
My mother was in the hospital in respiratory distress, then failure on a vent in ICU then in the rehab unit for a total of 29 days. Everyone thinks their local hospital is a "bandaid station" especially if you are from a small community like myself. My mother was well cared for from the ER to Housekeeping to Dietary. The volunteers made me feel at ease when I came to the hospital at all hours just by speaking to me with a kind hello. The primary Dr. called me at 10pm one night to give me report on my mother. In return for all of these wonderful people taking care of my mother I posted a story in the monthly insert the hospital puts in the local newspaper to let everyone know that our hospital is not a "bandaid station". I got personally thanked by many of the people from the hospital for the positive remarks made about the hospital and the many different departments that no one ever thanks like housekeeping and dietary. As nurses we need to thank others when its appropriate too.
I had a noncompliant DM type I pt s/p hernia repair,developed a nasty hematoma at the surg site. Doc waited entirely too long to take him back to the OR and evacuate it; no infection thankfully but the poor guy was in pain and anemic. His wife was also in very poor condition in another part of our facility and not expected to make it long (she didn't). As a result he was bitter, nasty, refused every tx and med he could get away with, ate what ever he wanted, sugars through the roof yet somehow demanded an inordinate amount of your time for a guy who did'n't want you to do anything for him. I finally told him that I could never imagine what it was like to be him right then and I would do anything I reasonably could to help him, but if there was nothing he needed from me at that moment, there were plenty of people who did want and need my help. I apologized for not having the time to listen to why he felt every tx and med was unwarranted and ridiculous but that was really best for his docs to hear anyway. I suggested that after I got the rest of my pts. done we would shower him (he had been refusing as he hated being rushed in the AM and smelled pretty rank) and as I work nights he'd have all the time in the world. He agreed and we washed his hair, scrubbed him down, shaved him and slathered him in lotion for his very dry skin, something he had previously not allowed me to do. I then asked him if he'd like to go see his wife. He declined at first, then went and sat beside her bed wordlessly, awkwardly. I left them alone and told him to call when he was ready to go. I checked on him an hour later and he had climbed in bed with her and was brushing her hair and talking to her quietly. He stayed another hour and all the anger and venom was gone. He became compliant, learning about his diabetes and diet, recovered well and quickly and was discharged. His wife did die shortly after. He became a recreational volunteer at the facility, alwatys smiling, full of encouragement for others. Whenever he saw me, he'd say "She's the nurse who saved my life! She gave me a kick in the a$$ when I needed it and I'd never have seen my wife before she died if she hadn't". He was embarassed about his appearance but too depressed to care. Seeing him smiling and helpful with a purpose in life made my heart swell every time I saw him. He died unexpectedly and thankfully quickly two years ago. I miss you, Frank- Sorry for the length of this; it kind of got away from me.
We recently had a patient who had stayed with us a LONG time (for acute care rehab anyway) pass away from complications. We were close to his family and did our best to support them while he was on comfort care in another unit. His wife wrote a thanks in his published obituary to us and brought us flowers from his funeral. It was so nice. Made a lot of us cry.
I had a noncompliant DM type I pt s/p hernia repair,developed a nasty hematoma at the surg site. Doc waited entirely too long to take him back to the OR and evacuate it; no infection thankfully but the poor guy was in pain and anemic. His wife was also in very poor condition in another part of our facility and not expected to make it long (she didn't). As a result he was bitter, nasty, refused every tx and med he could get away with, ate what ever he wanted, sugars through the roof yet somehow demanded an inordinate amount of your time for a guy who did'n't want you to do anything for him. I finally told him that I could never imagine what it was like to be him right then and I would do anything I reasonably could to help him, but if there was nothing he needed from me at that moment, there were plenty of people who did want and need my help. I apologized for not having the time to listen to why he felt every tx and med was unwarranted and ridiculous but that was really best for his docs to hear anyway. I suggested that after I got the rest of my pts. done we would shower him (he had been refusing as he hated being rushed in the AM and smelled pretty rank) and as I work nights he'd have all the time in the world. He agreed and we washed his hair, scrubbed him down, shaved him and slathered him in lotion for his very dry skin, something he had previously not allowed me to do. I then asked him if he'd like to go see his wife. He declined at first, then went and sat beside her bed wordlessly, awkwardly. I left them alone and told him to call when he was ready to go. I checked on him an hour later and he had climbed in bed with her and was brushing her hair and talking to her quietly. He stayed another hour and all the anger and venom was gone. He became compliant, learning about his diabetes and diet, recovered well and quickly and was discharged. His wife did die shortly after. He became a recreational volunteer at the facility, alwatys smiling, full of encouragement for others. Whenever he saw me, he'd say "She's the nurse who saved my life! She gave me a kick in the a$$ when I needed it and I'd never have seen my wife before she died if she hadn't". He was embarassed about his appearance but too depressed to care. Seeing him smiling and helpful with a purpose in life made my heart swell every time I saw him. He died unexpectedly and thankfully quickly two years ago. I miss you, Frank- Sorry for the length of this; it kind of got away from me.
Nice Job - this is what good nursing interventions are all about. Keep up the great work!
Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
WHAT AN HONOR THAT WAS!!! to be asked to sit with her baby until she got there.
Those moms go thru so much and nurses sometimes think they are demanding - I had an adult patient who was developmentally delayed and his mom was there often, and checking on us, and making sure thus and such was done. Many nurses thought she should just have let him go (he had a trach but sometimes would get pneumonia and such and need to be on a ventilator and antibiotics) - but she never would.
After a while, spending time talking to her, I figured out - duh - why she was so angry or unhappy so often - she was fighting a one woman battle and she DEARLY LOVED HER SON as any of us do. It was not just hard to let him go, it was impossible...
What you did for that young man, and his mother - priceless, thanks for sharing that with us!
Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
I posted a story in the monthly insert the hospital puts in the local newspaper to let everyone know that our hospital is not a "bandaid station". I got personally thanked by many of the people from the hospital for the positive remarks made about the hospital and the many different departments that no one ever thanks like housekeeping and dietary.
Marvelous!
Our local paper doesn't seem to want to print the "good stuff" like that - I BET the staff appreciated that. I think that people need to know that their efforts are noticed and worth something!
Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
...he'd say "She's the nurse who saved my life! She gave me a kick in the a$$ when I needed it and I'd never have seen my wife before she died if she hadn't". He was embarassed about his appearance but too depressed to care. Seeing him smiling and helpful with a purpose in life made my heart swell every time I saw him. He died unexpectedly and thankfully quickly two years ago. I miss you, Frank- Sorry for the length of this; it kind of got away from me.
So cool. It is nice to see that what we do does matter! And this sounds like a phenomenal thing you did "outside the realm of duty" or whatever the expression is.
I used to work detox/alcohol-drug rehab and a patient of mine, who for years I'd see at least once a month, would come up and say hello to me each time. He would introduce me to whomever he was with, "She was my counselor in the hospital". (Counselor, nurse, who cares... lol - I could never convince him otherwise). Anyway - he felt I had made a big difference in his life, when actually it was the other way around; watching his willingness and seeing him change - really incredible.
Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
We recently had a patient who had stayed with us a LONG time (for acute care rehab anyway) pass away from complications. We were close to his family and did our best to support them while he was on comfort care in another unit. His wife wrote a thanks in his published obituary to us and brought us flowers from his funeral. It was so nice. Made a lot of us cry.
I am an LPN that works in homehealth and have recieved many different thank you's in the five years that I have been working. Here are just a couple of them.
I recived a sack of oranges from a patient's family last year around christmas time, the daughter told me i was one of her mother favorites'. The funny thing was the next time I did a visit with her, the patient who is normaly alert to place and time, questioned if i enjoyed the oranges, and I told her they were very sweet, she then made the comment that I must have ate them all because I looked 10lbs heavier.
I had called in sick one day and the other nurses had to cover my patients. One nurse came back and told me that I had a very sweet male patient. He asked her where I was and if his wounds looked any better, which she responded to her that they looked good. Then she made a comment about praise the lord for that, which he heard "pray to the lord for that." So he called everyone in and they had a prayer over his wound, which was ended with "and lord let my David get well and come back to help me."
One that I never will forget though was a prn vist after a very long day and about 200 miles, the patients' mother layed hands on me and gave thanks to the lord for sending me to help them in there time of need. That might not seem like much but to a born and raised catholic, it was very strange incident, but a very LARGE thank you, and really was a very nice ending to what would have been a very long and regular day.
Specializes in ICU, ED, Transport, Home Care, Mgmnt.
My most memorable thank you is a bit different it wasn't one from the patients or families but from a surgeon. It happened on the worst night of my then short career, an Rn less than a year. I had 3 patients assigned to me and an empty be in the ICU I worked. I got a recovery into the empty bed and he went nuts when we hit him with narcan. I told my supervisor I couldn't care for him and the other three patients I had, one of which was a 1:1. Thankfully the other two patients were stable because they didin't get much attention. The third patient was bleeding (coagulopathy), hypotensive and tachycardic. I spent the night transfusing blood products, calling the doc, monitoring VS, giving meds, doing labs, etc. By 0700 she was stabilized. I made final call to doc and updated him on condition. He was the first physicians (one of only a few) to ever acknowledge that the care I gave kept his patient alive. I was floored and it has stuck with me ever since. Turns out the worst night of my 27 yr career was also the best, so far!
Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
I am an LPN that works in homehealth and have recieved many different thank you's in the five years that I have been working. Here are just a couple of them...
Those are just awesome, David! I loved homecare for that reason. Thanks!
supernurse65
87 Posts
My mother was in the hospital in respiratory distress, then failure on a vent in ICU then in the rehab unit for a total of 29 days. Everyone thinks their local hospital is a "bandaid station" especially if you are from a small community like myself. My mother was well cared for from the ER to Housekeeping to Dietary. The volunteers made me feel at ease when I came to the hospital at all hours just by speaking to me with a kind hello. The primary Dr. called me at 10pm one night to give me report on my mother. In return for all of these wonderful people taking care of my mother I posted a story in the monthly insert the hospital puts in the local newspaper to let everyone know that our hospital is not a "bandaid station". I got personally thanked by many of the people from the hospital for the positive remarks made about the hospital and the many different departments that no one ever thanks like housekeeping and dietary. As nurses we need to thank others when its appropriate too.