What is One of the Most Memorable Moments in Your Nursing Career?

[tnbutterfly - Mary]

Whether you are just starting out or you have years of experience, all nurses have those moments, good and bad, they will never forget.  These moments have an impact on us as they are etched into our memory bank and woven into the colorful tapestry that defines our nursing career. 

I need your help. As we are preparing the next issue of the allnurses magazine which will be published in a few short days, I would love to get input from nurses of all ages, specialties, and levels of experience as soon as possible. Just before the last magazine was published, I sought your help and you responded quickly with some fantastic comments. I know I can count on our allnurses readers to contribute again.

Whether you are just starting out or you have years of experience, all nurses have those moments, good and bad, they will never forget. These moments have an impact on us as they are etched into our memory bank and woven into the colorful tapestry that defines our nursing career.

Nurses are the core of healthcare. We touch so many lives in ways we might never imagine. When we look back over the years, we can see the faces of those whose lives and deaths have touched us. Not only are we the most trusted occupation but I dare say we are among the most compassionate and caring professionals that have the privilege and opportunity to touch many lives in some of life's most vulnerable moments.

A Beautiful Tapestry of Memories

I saw this quote by Donna Cardillo several years ago that has stuck with me.

Quote

When I think about all the patients and their loved ones that I have worked with over the years, I know most of them don't remember me nor I them. But I do know that I gave a little piece of myself to each of them and they to me and those threads make up the beautiful tapestry in my mind that is my career in nursing. – Donna Wilk Cardillo

What is one of the most memorable moments in your nursing career?

It can be something you witnessed or that you were directly involved in. How did this event affect you? What changes, if any did you make in your actions or thinking?

Share your memorable stories so others can be inspired and touched as they reflect upon their many nursing memories over the years. I know everyone is busy, but please take a few moments to post some thoughtful comments.

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[yeoldrn]

We were getting ready to fly a STEMI patient from a rural ER. He had TPA hanging and arrested in front of us (V Tach) got him back after 1 cardioversion. (Another example of the use of early defib/cardioversion) He immediately regained consciousnesses. En route as we finished the TPA, his ST segments came to baseline and his pain was gone. Patient said, "I feel great now." Will never forget it.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Keeping in mind I work in the OR, where we're supposed to fix what's wrong.

Worst: My first OR patient death. Middle aged MVA, minivan vs semi. That wasn't the worst part. The worst part was not being able to make dad look like dad for the family to view. Seeing the family break down.

Best: Young dad for scheduled cardiac surgery for a congenital anomaly. Wife and young child in the waiting room, wife visibly pregnant with baby #2. Surgery went beautifully. Surgeon had just finished and the PA was closing when the patient arrested. Two quick shocks and we had him back, reopened the chest to see if we could see anything going on (we couldn't). Closed him back up, transferred to ICU attached to the defibrillator just in case. Saw him up and walking around when I dropped off my patient the following day.

[Emergent, RN]

A very memorable day was my first night off orientation at a critical access hospital ICU, after having only previously worked med-surg. I was alone due staffing and census.

I had an end stage, no code, aortic stenosis lady on a non-rebeather. She lost a rhythm on the monitor, I ran in the room and the non-rebreather was off. I quickly replaced it and gave her several precordial thumps.

Miraculously, she transitioned from asystole to bradycardia to a NSR and woke up.

She survived another day for the arrival of more family and to die at home surrounded by them.

I kept a copy of the rhythm strip in a folder at home.

[Mavnurse17, BSN, RN]

I was about 10 months into my new-grad job on a cardiovascular step-down unit. I was caring for a patient that was readmitted shortly after his last visit for another CHF exacerbation. His family and I had somewhat of a rapport because I admitted him the first time around; it was during this previous admission that he was denied advanced therapies i.e. transplant or LVAD.

His Primacor gtt was the only thing keeping his heart functioning. The patient made the decision to go on home-hospice once he stabilized in our unit, but we were already starting comfort care, as he really was in the end stages of his heart failure.

On one of the last nights that I took care of him, his wife laid in his bed next to him, holding him and praying with him. I was preparing some morphine when I heard the patient ask me if I believed in God. I try not to discuss religion with my patients, but I told him I wasn't of the Christian faith but did believe in spirituality and some higher power.

As I moved over to his IV to give his medication, he looked me in the eye and said, "I believe God made you a nurse so you could care for me in my last days on earth."

Talk about chills.

I learned that he died about a month after he was discharged. The one year anniversary of his passing is coming up as well. I still think about him often.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

These are amazing stories. And y'all are amazing nurses.

[Kallie3006, ADN]

I was with a patient that was downgraded to the floor, assisted with transfer and did not leave the room. The assigned nurse was going through the patients orders ect, the patient passed 22 minutes after transfer, I was the only one in the room. Family seeked me out when they came to the hospital and gave me the most heartfelt hug and told me thank you because their loved one did not transition alone.

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

After 13 years in inpatient pediatrics, there are many memorable memories, both good and bad.

The main one that stands out and sticks with me all these years later - I started as a brand new grad in the PICU. I was only a month or two into orientation, had a two patient assignment with my preceptor including a patient that had just been officially declared brain dead. They were withdrawing life support, and unforunately I got stuck in my other patient's room so I was unable to get to the withdrawal room in time to witness the withdrawal process. Obviously this is a sensitive time, so I wasn't going to sneak into the room in the middle of it and interupt the family. Instead, I watched the entire withdrawal on the central telemetry monitor at the nurse's station, with the unit educator explaining exactly what they were doing when they were doing it based soley on the change/decline of all of the monitors the patient was hooked up to, until eventually there was no trace of life on the monitors.

I think this had a more powerful effect on me than if I would have actually been in the room. It reminded me that even though you aren't in a room, or you don't have a certain patient, or you are focused on whatever you are focused on that day, there are very serious things going on around you or even right next to you that you might not know about. I try to be mindful of that at all times.

[GSDlvrRN, MSN]

I took care of the youngest LVAD patient we have had. I remember him telling me how he wanted to get better so he can get out of the hospital and propose to his girlfriend. It had been postponed because of his hospital admissions.

I also remember praying with a 27 year old mitral valve replacement patient. He had a septic embolic stroke and was not stable enough for surgery and was dishcharged with antibiotics. I do not know what happened to him.

I also discharged 2 patients in the same day who were LVAD patients. They traveled to UCSF medical center for heart transplants. They were the 4th and 5th on the transplant list.

[OldDude]

On 4/16/2019 at 2:37 PM, ruby_jane said:

These are amazing stories. And y'all are amazing nurses.

RIGHT???!!! "just in a days work!" Heroes you guys are...one and all!

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

The one that I will remember until the day I die, was the ex convict--murder 1, served 22 years, was out 3 weeks and was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, and HepC--I was 6 years into my career, working med-surg. No one would go near him, he was evil, deserved to die, etc. I took him as a pt any night that I worked, without qualms. To me he was another person to care for. He was to go to inpt hospice as soon as they had a bed. He asked me to hold his hand for a minute late on his 4th or 5th night, and told me "Hoosier, there's a special place in Heaven for gals like you". He went to sleep, and when rounding an hour later, he had passed. It has stuck in my head since then to be as kind as you can to others, as sometimes we are the only person that they have, and we are the last face that they will see

[Daisy4RN]

2 hours ago, OldDude said:

RIGHT???!!! "just in a days work!" Heroes you guys are...one and all!

So are you and RubyJane and all ya school nurses who have the patience to care for the little ones!!

[Davey Do]

3 hours ago, OldDude said:

Heroes you guys are...one and all!

I am respectfully requesting that you tell your story, OldDude, of when you worked in ER... you know: the adolescent patient?.... I don't want to ruin the story for others.

I would have copied it from the past thread but couldn't locate it.

PLEASE, OldDude?