What's the best gift from a patient?

dollphyn · Sep 8, 2008

this may be the cheesiest thing ever, but a huge heartfelt thank you that completely melted my heart. ppl say thanks all the time, but it was the way she said it that meant the world because i knew she meant it from the bottom of her heart!
. a pt that has been on my floor for 2 months and time still to come. its the little things we can do for a pt. she wanted some things from the giftshop, and i went and go them for here when everyone else was blowing her off about it. it was her money for gosh sakes. what was so hard about coming in 5 min early to pick it up?
-h-rn

i completely agree with the heartfelt thank you. i have only been a rn since june, but i have already been touched by what a patient said to me. i was told that "i am their favorite nurse". i am still new to this profession, but to have a patient who has had many different nurses to give me that compliment meant more to me than if they gave me flowers or candy. at our hospital we have special letters that patients can write about one person or a whole unit. you should definitely write a letter for the people or unit so that they can get the recognition they deserve for a job well done. congrats on the new baby!!

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Sep 8, 2008

I wanted to tell you, most of us really just want to know we helped. You don't have to get too creative or go all-out. Just bring the baby in and say hello from time to time----that is a great gift from my point of view. Congratulations on the birth of your baby!

Exactly!! Some of the patients and their families I remember and appreiate the most are the ones who come back to the unit and bring baby orpictures and just say those magic words..."Thank you. I appreciate everything you did for me..."Give you a big hug!

Of course, we never mind a thank you note, and of course a copy to the powers that be!! Congrats on the new baby!

Anne, RNC

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · Sep 8, 2008

I have to agree with the letter or card idea. I positively treasure notes from pts/families that let me know that I have made a difference to them. (Even better are the ones that come on the "employee recognition" forms. That way the boss gets to see it too. )
As a side note, if you decide to get chocolate or such, don't forget to get a box for each shift. Such things are often gone by the time the night/evening shift arrives. :)

I know!! I got a wonderful thank you on a comment card that kind of goes like press ganey, maybe. Another family whose mother died of terminal cancer sent in a handwritten note - they actually sent it to administration so they had to find me eventually!

I got called down to administration at a different facility, unsure of what I had done. A former patient's son just happened to be one of the hospital's board chairmen, but did not reveal that to me, thank goodness!! She gave me a copy, and I teared up standing in her office reading it!

Anne, RNC

CMCRN · Sep 11, 2008

I agree that cards and notes are terrific. I have saved all of mine from over 20 years in nursing. I figure when I am retired and have lots of time I'll enjoy reading them over again. In terms of gifts lately I have seen cookie and fruit "plants". They are in a pot like a plant on sticks, colorfully frosted cookies that look like flowers. The fruit was also in a pot with sticks with fresh strawberries, pineapple chunks etc that also looked like a flowering plant but was healthy and delicious and a change from candy. You can buy them but it didn't look that hard to do yourself and is really creative and different.

lovablelvn · Sep 11, 2008

I agree with the other posters. I heartfelt Thank You is all I could ever ask for. :redpinkhe

But one of the neatest gifts I ever recieved was a package of Forget-me-not seeds. She said I made her feel as if she was my only patient and never forgot about her.:heartbeat That really meant alot to me. Something unique I thought.

Biol20fan · Sep 11, 2008

A thank you means more than anything, or a card.

I'm in my L&D clinical rotation in school, and yesterday I was helping with a G1, P0 mom. She was in a lot of pain (they couldn't get an epidural in her, although they tried and tried), young, and scared out of her mind. I helped her through her contractions, reminding her to breathe, rubbing her back, etc. I told her that for as scared as she was at that moment, it will all be made up for when her baby is delivered, she holds him for the first time and he knows that's his mommy. :heartbeat

She thanked me after her little one was born, and it was so sincere and sweet, I teared up on the way home.

So yes, thank you's are wonderful!!!!!!!!!!

elanddeenrs · Sep 12, 2008

a really cool (and probably pretty spendy) show of appreciation we received was when a pt hired a masseuse to come and do 5 min chair massages for a 2 hour block. i was pregnant at the time, so she gave me an extra 5 min!

Tolle_lege · Sep 22, 2008

Thanks for all the replies, I am defintely going to send some thank you cards and a letter the administration.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Sep 22, 2008

Congratulations on your new baby! If you want to give the nurses something extremely meaningful, write a letter describing what excellent and friendly care you received. Include dates of your stay and all names you can remember. Send copies to nurse manager of nursery, L&D, post partum and copy to hospital administrator. Trust me, they will appreciate this more than anything you could imagine!

I agree 1000000% with this. The vast majority of the time, pts only talk to mgmt about us when they want to complain.

A long time ago, a pt's family member wrote a wonderful note about me in her Client Satisfaction Survey. That was over ten years ago, and I still have a copy of the survey. I come across it in my papers every now and then, and it always makes me feel proud and humble at the same time.

A box of cookies as a "thank you" is gone in minutes, but a written "thank you" can have an impact for years.