What's your favorite nursing task?

[beekindRN]

There's been a lot of rants and vents about nursing, but let's focus on the odd tasks that make you happy. Maybe you love post-OP patients or CRRT or giving bed baths...what's something that makes you happy?

Personally, I love enteral feedings. I love placing NGs and Dobhoffs. I love Kangaroo pumps, I love crushing meds, and flushing the line with 30 ccs. I love hearing the whoosh when I check placement q 4 h. It's my favorite thing!

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

IV sticks for the win!

[dream'n, BSN, RN]

Love trach suctioning and drawing central line labs.

[FurBabyMom, MSN, RN]

3 hours ago, Emergent said:

I love converting people in SVT to NSR with adenosine.

Adenosine is such a fun drug to give. We give it intra op for some complications during neurovascular surgery.

We also sometimes give it for the SVT to NSR thing too...

[FurBabyMom, MSN, RN]

Hmm...my world is different from the floor, but also not.

I like being able to talk to patients and calm them down while we get ready to induce anesthesia. Or when they wake up.

I don't mind being the "monitor" nurse for a local anesthesia only case. Get to practice some IV skills, some med admin skills a little differently than is normal, and document on vitals? It's a nice change too.

Running lasers are fun too. Scary (as lasers are so powerful and so much could go wrong) but fun.

I don't mind foleys either but meh, nothing special anymore. I've put in so many I can't count! Helping anesthesia with IV placement and/or pushing drugs if they're busy with something else is cool too (usually it's just like metoprolol but still).

I kind of like catching any number of things that could go wrong.

I like teaching residents and other learners. Precepting is fun, unless it's every day.

I like traumas, though wish they didn't have to happen. Emergency cases are something different altogether. Having to put patients on something super advanced is gratifying and often solemn too. Going to PICU to put a 2 lb infant on ECMO remains on of the hardest assignments I've had. So is setting up for a crash c-section during another procedure (although it is a little nicer than knowing there is nothing we can try - baby is not yet viable). I've experienced several patients dying in the OR...and getting to say we did everything possible for them, and providing a shred of decency is nice too (though very somber if they're unidentified and we have no possible identification - that's so sad...)...

[Davey Do]

My Dad said to me during a family meeting due to discord back in 1978, "Dave, you can make people understand things they don't want to understand!"

I love being able to, for example, talk down an ex-con diagnosed with schizophrenia who just threatened two female staff members' lives and talk him into taking medications, commit to safety, and apologize for his behavior.

I am...

"The Acting Out Psychotic Patient Whisperer"!

[Davey Do]

1 hour ago, dream'n said:

Love trach suctioning

Wow, dream'n. Just to be able to stand the noise without clenching my teeth or gagging is great for me!

But to "love" it? Wow.

And: "Ew!"

[TriciaJ, RN]

10 minutes ago, Davey Do said:

Wow, dream'n. Just to be able to stand the noise without clenching my teeth or gagging is great for me!

But to "love" it? Wow.

And: "Ew!"

I'm with you, Davey. Psychosis is the only thing I can handle above the neck.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I loved starting IVs and placing Foleys, especially in challenging patients. I had the dubious "honor" of being the only nurse this one woman who came to the hospital for monthly catheter changes would allow to perform the dirty deed. She was well over 550 lbs and could not take care of herself, and home health refused to do it because it was impossible for one person. It took five of us, myself included, to accomplish this---two on each side, to hold her massive belly up and spread her legs---and we had to do it very quickly, because she couldn't lie flat for more than a minute or two and would panic because she couldn't breathe. I was usually able to get it done from start to finish in about 30 seconds.

IVs were fun too. It took me six years to be competent in this skill, so when I finally "got it" I got good at it very quickly. Sometimes I'd even be called to CCU to place an IV in a patient who had exhausted all the unit nurses' abilities. That made me proud. The toughest start I ever had was on a fat little two-month-old, every nurse on LDRP and peds had tried and failed. For one thing, I loved babies and didn't want to hurt them, and for another, this one was such a chunk that I could barely feel the veins. That, and babies are not particularly cooperative patients. Luckily he had a tiny vein in his hand that I found by pure chance, and I got that IV in on the first try. I still miss doing that, it really gave me an adrenaline rush.

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

Giving IVP Ativan.

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

It's been a loooooong Sunday night shift. I like other things too, I promise!

I enjoy straight cathing and placing foleys and am fairly good at it. It's super gratifying to relieve that distension for people! Hanging IVF and abx is also pretty fun, making sure all the tubing is up to date and labeled too. I usually enjoy dropping IVs but am in a wicked dry spell right now.

[K+MgSO4, BSN]

Oral assessment and care.

A pt who has had a bowel obstruction and is NBM, breathing through their mouth because the Ryles is down one nare. Breeding ground for fungi. Lots of oral care, Nilstat and ice chips so that when they do start diet they will actually be able to get it down and not in a mouth full of thrush.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Either helping with the first post-op shower or foot care. They're basic but important, and usually bring a sense of relief to the patient.