OK, we have an active thread about the types of patients and conditions we don't enjoy dealing with......now let's have one about the ones we DO like to take care of.
As I said on the other thread, I love the grumpy old men.....once you get them talking, they almost always warm up and start telling you war stories. By the time your shift is over, they've fallen in love with you and never give you another moment's grief during the rest of their stay.
Another favorite patient is the one who is actually interested in their condition and thirsty for knowledge. They will often look to you for guidance in dealing with it because you are a nurse and they trust you. These are always the patients you bump into months later at the Safeway and they point you out to their companion as "the nurse who was so nice to me". They will also thank you profusely for teaching them about their disease and tell you what a difference you made in their life. Needless to say, this doesn't hurt one bit.
But the patients I love the most are the ones who face even the gravest conditions with courage, faith, and resilience. I am reminded of a 50-something gentleman who made frequent visits to the hospital where I worked about a dozen years ago; diagnosed with Stage IV esophageal cancer, he somehow became a beacon of hope not only to the legions of friends who came to visit him, but to all of us as well. We often found ourselves in his room even when we didn't need to be, drinking deep of his wisdom and bravery; he was like a candle in the darkness even as the cancer ravaged him and gradually robbed him of his ability to speak or swallow.
One evening after he'd had a stent placed to keep his esophagus from closing completely, he made me promise I'd go to the doctor for my case of GERD, to which I'd confessed after he insisted on knowing why I was always hiccuping and stifling burps. That was how his CA had begun, and he didn't want the same thing to happen to me. Typically, I never thought of it again until word came that he had passed away in another hospital.....Well, suffice it to say that I sought treatment shortly thereafter, and have rarely suffered with GERD since. And I owe it all to David.
Specializes in Ambulatory Surgery, Ophthalmology, Tele.
I like the gruff old guys best. Rarely have I scraped away the gruff, and found a mean old man. They make me smile with their attempts at being grouchy.A close second are the couples. The pair that come to the hospital when only one is sick, simply because they can't imagine not sharing even that part of their life. Not the young ones. The couples who've been married 50-60-70 yrs. Their devotion to each other is a source of inspiration to me.
I met a couple like this recently. They were so lovey dovey. When she had to leave the floor for a test they would hold hands and look into each others eyes. It was so sweet. I asked them how long they had been married (I love hearing the 50+, 60+ years answer I usually hear). They told me they weren't married. They were sweet hearts when they were young. Went there separate ways and lived life. Fifty plus years later, both widowed, they found each other through facebook (or something similar) and had been dating for some months and planned to marry soon. I thought this was pretty cool. :)
I really like caring for kids who will be going home on a vent for the first time. I came from this work environment, and so am able to educate the parents and kids about the realities, tricks and tips of home care. I share with them the best, easiest and cheapest ways to manage this chronic condition, how to get the home set-up to make homecoming smoother - and I like saving things like oral syringes that in the inpatient world gets thrown away for them to take home and re-use.
My favorite patients? We have two S/P head injury patients that each have their own language that they've developed. I love seeing them- honestly, they are the sweetest people that come in. It takes some patience to translate their poetic turns of phrase. I can honestly say that I am fluent in "Mr S" and "Ms P" language.
Normally, my favorites are ventilated, sedated, orphenated, and constipated. They don't have to be constipated, though that's a plus that never lasts. My least favorite are the ones with what I've decided to call an aqueduct in their bellies... a mindboggling array of irrigation and drainage on a closed belly. There's been this decade-long effort to make sure you can't hook IV things up to a whole lot of other things, then I get this instruction to hook up, of all things, a JP drain to wall suction, no make that two or so, then the other two have irrigation running in. The shenanigans this resulted in, defied imagination and it's good the patient was sedated so I didn't have to explain my language. Oh by the way not long afterwards we got some new tube things that have both an IV port and a suction port so if the doc sticks that in the belly, I can do whatever needs to be done with it, and without any rubber cement or explosions.
I love postops normally. But hey. It's gotta be within the realm of aseptic... too much bubblegum and string, and I start to get nervous.
Post op pts, esp the ones who can't wait to get up and walk or the ones who I find using their incentive spirometer on their own w/ no one around, haha.
Transplant pts who study their Ed materials, know their meds, and ask questions.
Those that are appreciative. It is so common never to hear a thank you anymore, but one rare one and I can't stop smiling:). Brightens your WHOLE day!:)
I love families and patients that take an active interest in their health and care plans:)
The ones who turn off the TV, the cell phone, the laptop, put down the book and magazine and suspend the third party conversation when I walk into the room. In summary, those patients who respect my time and professional expertise by giving me their undivided attention whenever I am providing nursing care.
Specializes in long term care Alzheimers Patients.
1. Pleasantly confused patients who are low fall risks, easily redirected, and do not attempt to pull out peripheral IVs, feeding tubes, oxygen tubing, etc.
2. AOx4 patients who are easygoing, pliant, and gracious.
nursefrances, BSN, RN
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