What kind of nurse are you?

[imintrouble]

I'm not asking the obvious. My question does not deal with specialty or area of nursing. It's more an insight into who you are. I've been on here a couple of years, and have absorbed opinions about some of you by the words you post. I admire some of you enormously. Others..not so much.

In that vein, what kind of nurse are you?

Pessimist/Realist

Optimist/Dreamer.

Do you view situations the way they are? Or the way you wish they were?

Do you gloss over the ugly, or present it in as gentle and yes, compassionate, way as possible?

I'll start.

I had a pt who would not leave their O2 on. His sats dropped in the 70s. He was SOB.

Not confused, just angry and obstinate.

All day the nurse "fussed" over him. Explaining ad nauseum why he needed the O2

When I came on, I looked him directly in the eye, and told him if he didn't wear the O2 he was going to die. Plainly, bluntly. I was not mean. My intention was not to hurt him. I wanted to make sure he understood the ramifications of his choice.

I don't approach pts like that every single time, as situations warrant different approaches. But as a whole, I prefer the direct, plain and simple approach.

What about you? Are you a fusser, or a plain speaker.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Every person I encounter dictates my course of action. I have the people that need me to be the bad guy and set their ass straight, I have people that just want someone to talk to and need to get something off their chest. I deal with every kind of person with the floor I am on now and found that no way works the same between two people.

[Hygiene Queen]

I try to play to my audience, so I can be a motherly fusser or a no-nonsense straight-shooter.

I can go from "Aw, honey, that's awful... here, let me" to "Here's the deal, Mr. Brown..." pretty easily and I am the same way with visitors.

I have been a nurse a short time, but was an aide/tech for my whole adult life and learned the "people" part of nursing a long time ago.

I'm also a big goof and a bit quirky. I'm fascinated to observe people and their interactions. I take in how they look, how they act and all the big and small gestures they make. I like to "read" people... so this is bonus for deciding my approach. This is a good way to be in psych.

As for coworkers, I try to take a few with a grain of salt, but I cannot stand outright laziness.

I had to pull one newbie tech aside. I wasn't mean. I didn't yell. But... don't you dare ask me if we have to do everything "perfect" and "do housekeeping work"... oh hell yes!

I was very very straight forward and stern, in that case, but made it clear I was there to help her learn and wanted to see her succeed.

So, I guess I'm like salt or sugar. Which ever one is needed or felt for any given situation.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

linearity here, too. problem-solving, applying data and research, standards of practice, get 'er done nursing. with a soupcon of creativity, oppositional disorder, and wild-woman thrown in for fun.

it's why we love you!!!!

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I can be a sweet as pie or I can forearm you to the stretcher to place you in leathers (kind of the reason my hubby married me:lol2:....) I custom design my approach to every situation...I can be a dumb as any blonde is presumed to be or a strong as I need to be to get done what needs to be get done.

I remember one time in my frustration I probably wasn't as therapeutic as I should have been. There was a young male head injured teen, who of course knew their favourite profanity....shouted at the top of his lungs. Who demanded incessantly, also at the top of his lungs, what the "#*$&" was in his "Di#k"....with the death grip on the foley and not comprehending that every time he pulled it why it hurt so he screamed louder.

So with both of us fighting for control ove rthe foley cath.....:argue: I had finally had ENOUGH and I told him, in layman's no uncertain terms, that his private parts would never work again if he kept pulling on that tube. Practically being nose to nose I saw the sudden clarity in his eyes as he replied "No $hit?" I told him "No,$hit" to which he promptly dropped the foley never to pick it up again and we finally had peace.

When I came in the next day I was confronted by a panicked Mother concerned that her son's reproductive organs had suffered by the head injury. I asked her why she thought that and she replied....."He told me his,uhm, member was broken and may never work again......is that true is it broke?" To have to admit I gave him the idea was slightly embarrassing, even though it was highly effective....thank goodness his mother had a sense of humor for not everyone views what nurses view as funny and we all thought this patients interpretation was priceless:lol2:

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Realist, optimistic, gently presents it all as it is but also realizes that sometimes in psych, you just need to flat out call a fork a fork.

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

undoubtedly, i'm the kind of nurse that will educate and explain to my patients and their family the treatment that we would like to accomplish. however, i'm straight forward with them i don't sugar code anything. following this further, i strongly believe if you explain the reasons why a certain medication or labs. were ordered; it gives empowerment to their recovery. needless to say, it has worked for me since the beginning of my career. obviously, as a guy i can't go to mr.brown and say "honey... why are you refusing to take your meds." it wouldn't be professional, and it would complicate matters. in addition, i find it so easy, for example while i'm giving the meds. i don't just let them down and say "take them the dr. ordered them"; i explain the type of medication and the benefits, all of this while i'm taking their bp; or doing something to make them more at ease. unquestionably, this makes the pt. more confidant with their plan of care, as you win their trust.here's hoping that i have answered your concerns, as i send you hugs from across the miles...ciao~

[cardiacrocks, BSN, RN]

I am a realist, I am also compassionate like many of you on here. I am blunt and direct, get right to the point. I work on a busy cardiac floor, we have many cath lab pts. Many have right or left groin caths. When they return I always write on their white board, "no moving the right (left) leg or lifting your head off the pillow for 4 (sometimes) 6 hrs. Often upon my return to check the leg I notice them moving it, I say, " you can't move your leg, If you start bleeding you will have to lay flat for another 4 hrs. even if you only had 15 min. left and you start bleeding and I have to apply pressure, you'll be down for another 4 hrs.."Then they say, "OMG, I can't handle laying like this for another 4 hrs. I'll behave." I see a lot of other nurses grabbing the leg and saying you need to keep it still, never telling them the ramification that will take place if they bleed and you have to hold pressure. I think patients would rather know the real truth, the facts and appreciate if their nurse is blunt! I also had a pt. once who refused to eat. I said, listen i'm not sure what is going on here, I'm here if you need to talk about something, but If you continue to refuse to eat we are not going to just let you die! Bottom line is, we will put a feeding tube down your nose, or a PICC line in to give you TPN, if you try and pull it out then we will tie your hands down. If you are at risk for suicide attempts. you will have a sitter in here at all times, even when you have to go to the bathroom. We will not let you die!!! Now do you want to eat or what? Guess what they ate and told me they appreciated my bluntness, told me nobody had been that straight forward with them. I am not there to coddle them, I'm there to keep them stable. Love my job :)

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

I am a "whatever works" kinda nurse.

[shopperoo]

I can be hard nosed if it calls for it, I have had my share of psych patients but I ebb and flow from compassionate to the sick,paralyzed to blank and matter of fact when I am being manipulated and worked for attention when I have reached my limit. I am a different person on certain days and all because of what I think the patient needs or wants. I am myself if I am allowed to be. If that happens I am a better nurse for being accepted as I am but if not I am in character for them and less giving for being forced into a square hole. Still either way I am a giving nurse. I always give more than others. I buy whats needed, I make calls from home, I fill in with a moments notice, I listen endlessly, I agonize over how to help them in every way. Example: Last night was the first time my patient smiled since I have been working with him. I am pretty sure this has not happened with a consortium of previous nurses. It does not matter that I change to suit them only that I can lend a little healing and love along the way

[Wonderlost]

Straight forward & as realistic as possible

Thats probably partly because I do correctional health and it kind of turned me into that kind of person.

I don't try to be mean to people, but unless I am talking to them in just a plain conversation, I am very direct.

[NurseCard, ADN]

I'm a psychiatric nurse, so I've found that the direct and blunt way is just about the ONLY way to go. If you beg and plead with those patients, you get absolutely nowhere.

As far as how I view situations... I tend to not fuss over the small stuff. Sometimes that's good, and sometimes it's not, I will admit that.

[BrandybunsRN]

I definitely adjust to the situation, as I'm sure we all do to varying degrees. There have been times that I've had time and given a patient a backrub because she was so uncomfortable and her attitude went from horrible to tolerable (making my night much easier). Working in a clinic now, there are a lot of times when I have to be very direct with patients because I see them back over and over again.... MI after MI after MI. Patients with heart failure that "just can't give up my potato chips, it's my one vice" .... and I have to tell them "well they must be more important to you than breathing, because they are literally going to kill you/cause you to drown one day". Sometimes I feel harsh, but patients will often times get wide eyed and actually understand for the first time.

I also tend to believe that patients need to have accountability for their health. I can give them all the information in the world... and as long as I've educated them to the best of my ability, I think they are still adults and need to choose things for themselves. Does that woman really want her potato chips more than she cares about breathing? Maybe so.... so that's her choice. I'm not going to go to her house and throw away every chip bag.... I'm her nurse, I'm her caregiver, and I'm her advocate..... I'm not her mother.

I'm starting NP school next week and I think I've developed a good rapport with my patients and they seem to like me, like my attitude, and appreciate my directness while still having compassion. There will be times as a NP that I will have to have the tough discussions with patients about sexuality issues (yikes! I do cardiac so that's a bit ouf of my comfort!), abuse issues, and end-of-life issues, etc,etc. I'm just hoping that I can maintain my direct attitude and be informative for my patients but still always keep my "nurse attitude".... caring/compassionate.