What Kind of Patients Do You LIKE Most?

Nurses Relations

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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 Oncology, Medical.

I love working with anyone who can maintain a sense of humour. There is a patient on my floor right now who I have a great working relationship with, but really, she's just a sweet and funny old lady who likes to take walks around the unit with her husband every evening so she's easy to get along with in general. However, I remember on a previous admission, she was doped up on pain meds and was really confused and rang the call bell a lot, which frustrated some of the other nurses who had to work with her, but I still found her a joy to work with. I don't work much with her now because she's in our palliative unit, but I see her every time she and her husband take their daily walks and we always exchange a few joking remarks every time.

Also, I really like the pleasantly confused people! I remember having two ladies in the same room who were both pleasantly confused. It was awesome being in there, listening to their "conversations" that made no sense and trying to hop into those conversations myself and have the most entertaining time with it!

Specializes in Operating Room.

I work in surgery so I must say the ones that are asleep :-)

Specializes in Rehab/Nurse Manager.
On 9/3/2012 at 4:06 PM, TheCommuter said:

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.

Sums up my favorites pretty well 

Specializes in Critical Care.

As an ICU nurse...Sedated and intubated.

Specializes in CVICU.

I like the patient who teeters along in the ICU, and everyone wonders if they'll ever make it out. Then, they make a turnaround. Far and few in between, but gotta hang on to the underdog stories! 

Specializes in Oncology (OCN).

I realize this is an old thread but thought I'd add my 2 cents.  I worked oncology the majority of my career.  My absolute favorite patients to work with were leukemia patients.  Perhaps because they were with us for such long periods of time and so frequently (induction chemo-4 to 6 weeks, subsequent rounds 2-3 weeks) that we really got to know them and their families.  Also because I really found blood cancers fascinating.  The chemo regime was intense and they required frequent blood product transfusions (especially during nadir).  Mostly had AML or ALL patients but occasionally would get one of the rarer forms (hairy cell, prolymphocytic).  

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