What is your favorite nursing memory?

teeniebert, LPN · Feb 29, 2012

Before LPN school, I worked in a group home with developmentally disabled ladies. As a nurse, I feel privileged when I get to take care of a DD individual. Once there was a lady on the unit who went to the same day center as my former clients, and I was able to talk with her (not TO her) about her favorite activities and people we both knew. Another time a young man was with us after surgery for spinal stenosis, in a Miami J collar and JTO. He HATED that thing (wouldn't you?) and would fight us when we had to change the padding. The only word we could make out clearly when he spoke was "NO!" One day I whipped out my cell phone and pulled up a photo of my bunnies and said, "Hey, check this out!" I was just hoping to distract him for a minute, but he said clear as day, "Rabbits." then smiled the biggest smile I'd ever seen. Turns out he LOVED picture flash cards, or looking at magazines and identifying pictures. Once he was provided pictures (and no longer BORED) he was cooperative and would even joke with staff during turns and changes. When he got out of the JTO brace and could sit upright, he spent his afternoons at the nurses' station playing UNO with anyone who'd sit still for a minute, and pulling on people's shirt tails then saying "not me!" when they turned around.

Guttercat, ASN, RN · Mar 1, 2012

Actually it was more than twenty years ago when I was a CNA doing home care. I think I was nineteen.

Taking care of a little old, confused Chinese man, "Mr. Chan" who was fresh off the boat, and who laughed everytime he saw me: "me" being a giant Swede and all...

Auntie Chan nearly burned down the house one midninght lighting candles and incense to Buddha. Walked in to the living room to see Auntie Chan rocking and praying in front of the little shrine while giant flames shot up to the ceiling.

They fed me some sort of foul, rice and fish mixture the next morning. I sucked it down as fast as I could trying desperately to keep it from coming back up the wrong way, all the while smiling and saying thank you.

I ate it so fast they must have figured I was starving, and so promptly shoved a second, full bowl under my chin.

I still think about that family to this day.

Nascar nurse, ASN, RN · Mar 1, 2012

Ahh..the memories of my 105 year old Olga. Very large bone, strong accented, very confused German lady that I just loved. What a wicked sense of humor when least expected and her eyes just twinkled when she was up to no good. (This poor thing didn't recognize her own family half the time and believed she had to leave to milk cows every afternoon - that is how confused she could be - but other times she was downright witty).

I was about 2 months pregnant, not showing at all and very few of my coworkers even knew I was Preg. at that point. I had went in to take Olga's vitals and she sat patiently while I took her apical pulse. She had "the look" in her eye that told me something funny was coming next. When I was done she asked me with great and unusual interest about her pulse rate. As I started to explain she argued with me that I was wrong and only she knew how to count heartbeats and she insisted on having my stethascope (now those eyes were just lighting up with delight but I had no clue what she was up to). It was easier and quicker to go along with her so I handed over the stethascope. Next thing I know she is shoving the bell under my shirt and wanting to count my pulse. Just as I started to stop her from being inappropriate she landed the bell right on my stomach and smiled..."This little heartbeat is the one I really want to count". I will never understand how she knew I was pregnant but I loved her for that moment.

Have to admit, the day she returned from activities with 2 very large balloons shoved under her shirt to look like huge boobs and cackleing with laughter was a riot too.

NO50FRANNY · Mar 1, 2012

Ah, it still brings a tear to my eye thinking about it. The government tried to bring in a bargaining agreement where nurses would essentially be paid less each year for four years and patient ratios would increase, decreasing our standards of care. They also wanted to abolish certain rules about length of shifts, penalty rates for shift work etc. etc. Our nurses union organised petitions to be signed at ward level by patients, to stop the agreement. I remember taking the petition to each patient, I would start to explain what it was for and I swear every single patient essentially said you don't need to explain, if it's for the nurses, we will sign it. Every single patient did. The incredible feeling of support from our patients and the validation and respect that was so obvious still makes me emotional.