What Kind of Patients Do You LIKE Most?

Published

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. :D

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. :saint:

Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

I like difficult family members that come to me and complain. I'm good at resolving issues and making them happy even though I have set guidelines.

The ones that swear they will never come back and complain about everything on day one. My goal is to get them to change their mind and love us. ;)

Another grumpy old men lover. They cuss, grumble and give scornful looks, but will usually do what I say.:p

Of course for easy days, give me a male pt with cellulitis.

Specializes in Oncology.

People who actively participate in their care.

Patients who follow the rules.

Patients who respect you, their fellow patients, the other staff, and themselves.

Patients who APPRECIATE how hard you work.

Patients who have patience with you.

Patients who get better.

Patients with a sense of humor.

Patients who have realistic goals, expectations, etc.

Specializes in PACU, presurgical testing.

I also love taking care of elderly men, grumpy or otherwise. I don't know why; I used to think it was because I had an older father (WWII vet, 47 when I was born, looked like one of the Rat Pack until he died at 82), but is that true for the rest of you?

An elderly man was also my only patient in nursing school who passed away. He was one of my favorites of the favorites, too; we had a great rapport, and when things were going bad, I went in to see how he was doing (everyone was conferring out in the hall and no one was in the room with him). Even when feeling bad and probably scared, he was gracious, respectful, intelligent, charming, and so strong. I think of him often and hope that he felt like we all treated him with the dignity he deserved.

Also, at 42 years old, I confess that I get a kick out of being called a "pretty young girl." And those are about the only guys who still say that to me besides my husband!

Specializes in Emergency, ICU.
Normally, my favorites are ventilated, sedated, orphenated, and constipated.

Thank you! My favorite patient is also intubated, and sedated.

But seriously now, any patient with a sense of humor will make my day.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Specializes in ICU.

OMG after loosing faith in a majority of my patients and society, I had a patient, in a renal unit of all places, really nice guy. He was in a fib and they had planed for an ablation, had been in fib for a few months. So I was giving him his handouts on the procedure, the physiology of arrythmias ect and I start yacking before he even read anything, describing how afib makes the heart function, when he piped up, "oh is that why im so tired all the time?", totally getting how the loss of atrial kick affects him. I didnt even have to explain it. I was like Yes! You GET it! I just love it when they are actually interested in their conditions.

I also love little old ladies and grandpas who have stories.

I even love the patients who are total cares where if you just take a little bit of extra time to learn what they like, and prefer and you take the time to listen to them, you can make their stay more enjoyable. Also in a renal care unit, LOL who was total care, at first I thought it was going to be a long day because she was "needy" (I do have little patience), once I knew how things needed to be done, we had a great day. And at the end of the day she thanked me for being so good to her, she knew when the nurses got frustrated and rushed things and thanked me for not doing so. Actually that same day my other patient thanked me for being so good to him. Guess I dont hear it too often because usually theyre tubed/sedated.

I think I needed this thread today after I was just thinking how fed up with health care i am and want to get out.

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

My LOVE is respiratory gunk...love to calm a patient in Respiratory failure patient struggling to breathe; trach and vented patients are breathing easy after my meticulous pulmonary toilet and suctioning. Love to do chest PT to the tune of "Tea for Two" --just the right rhythm and song length.--sure to bring a chuckle to my pts. Don't give me CKD/ESRD clients with their crazy lab values on the brink of coding cause missed dialysis ---fled back to my Resp unit after 4 month loan period.

:D

Specializes in med-tele/ER.

95 year old pleasantly confused little old ladies

I am with Viva on the grace part. I had a lady who had been dealing with ALS for 11 years.

She has a beautiful mind and a beautiful spirit but her body is completely disconnected from her. It is flaccid and useless.

She is absolutely and completely dependent on others.

Yet she is quick to smile. Her spirit is so wonderful. The grace that she exhibits as she deals with this impossible condition warms my heart. The way her family tends to her...well it brings tears to my eyes.

Caring for her was exhausting. She was on the call light every 10 minutes.

She was DC'd to home a few days ago.

I miss her.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

Intubated, sedated patients with no family or friends. I'll talk to them all day!

I like them ALL. Do you appreciate what I am doing.. do you fight what I am doing.. do you even realize what I am doing?

Doesn't matter. I will make sure you get the best care and I enjoy the challenge of making sure that it happens.

^This!

I expect all kinds of people and situations--especially after 20 years in the field--and b/c pts are in vulnerable positions, which if you have ever been a patient with a serious illness, you can completely understand.

It's working with people that go out of their way to be difficult that is the challenge. IDK, maybe deep inside they hate nursing or whatever it is that they are doing. The rest of us have to reap the negativity of it--and when it gets too pervasive, you realize you must move on.

I like patients that I never see again. I just got a job in the ED, and to be honest, that is part of the appeal of ED. Patients don't usually stay for long unless they are psych patients, or frequent flyers. Of course, then their is pressure to be an excellent nurse to these patients in such a short window of time.

Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

sleepy ones- I work nights.

+ Join the Discussion