What's the nicest compliment you've gotten as a nurse?

[NurseNinja1990]

Just thought we could all use a warm and fuzzy topic. Nursing can seem like a thankless job at times, and when you do get that rare validation from a patient or another staff member it sticks with you. For me, I'll always remember how I felt when a CNA came up to me and said "We all feel safer with you around".

So how about you? What's something nice that a patient or another staff member said that stands out to you?

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

This will stay with me forever.It was from a non english speaking granma that was so meddlesome about her infant grandchild the staff avoided her.I was covering co workers break and I had to rescue the blue choking /vomiting infant with multiple issues.The grandma was shrieking hysterically and jumping, running all around the bed, getting in my way of helping the patient,very sternly,I pointed to a chair yelled "SIT!!" and turned ,proceeded to help the infant. it was all over within minutes, I called her over to the bedside and together we comforted and soothed the infant,showing her ,the infant was ok now.

When her family returned, she calmly re enacted to whole scene in her language with gestures, the back slapping, suctioning ,..all of it and told me I was a GUD [accent]nurse ,and that she was bestowing blessings and prayers for me and my whole family.

[River&MountainRN, ADN, RN]

I recently left a job, but I'm told that all of the residents still ask for me there because I "did the best job taking care of them". It's nice to hear, because I always felt like I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off and felt badly I couldn't have more time to actually spend with them!

[JBudd, MSN]

The charge nurse and all of the others working on the floor had written a two page letter to the campus dean. They were there with a check covering my last two semesters and an offer of employment when I graduated. I took it as my first position and ten years latter I ended up as Head nurse of the unit.

Wow! Congratulations!

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

I was providing hospice care to a patient. It was a little tricky , as I was in charge, had 4 other patients. Still made into her room every hour. The family told me " thanks for being here, you have such a calming presence."

[DannyBoy8, RN]

On dayshift a patient requested that they have the same nurse again on nightshift....the one who looks like Clark Kent from Superman....Das me.

[Neats, BSN]

When I worked in the prison system we had a dying patient form leukemia. He had lived his life so hard and burned so many bridges there was no one to visit him. I made a promise to him to visit once weekly with him and we played a game of tic tac toe each time. The visits lasted not more than 15 mins. At week 12 he thanked me for being a wonderful nurse and even better human being. He dies several days after that.

[Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN]

I watched a car just veer out of the lane of intended travel hit a guardrail, go airborne over a 30' embankment and come to rest on it's top.

I was traveling behind this vehicle in my private vehicle with little more than intention, knowledge, a basic first aid kit and the ability to pray in a dozen languages.

Damn, I have to stop. Must stop. I witnessed this one. Why did this driver just veer out of the lane (medical emergency most likely, I thought) and they made no evasive action. Hit that guardrail at full speed and the badness continued.

I called it in. Safely stopped. And shimmied down 30 feet of tough kudzu and climbed in the wrecked vehicle and did a brief assessment while maintaining c-spine stabilization of my "patient". She may have had a TIA . She was a bit confused and in pain. Multiple cuts, tho not really serious. I explained to her what happen, where she was, who I was and the Calvary was coming. She had a badly broken ankle and leg. I suspect some ribs were broken, she could breathe without too much difficulty.

This woman's daughter tracked down my address. She wrote me a 2 page letter in a card that I have kept for almost 25 years. It broke my heart. Her mother ultimately recovered.

Every time I thought about quitting, I would read that letter and it reminded me that what I do matters to someone.

Even the simple things. Holding someone's hand. Calming their fears. Telling them that they are not alone during the scariest, worst day of their lives.

It all matters. Very powerful stuff.

:angel:

[Medic/Nurse, BSN, RN]

Technically the ^^^^ post was NOT as NURSE.

I AM SORRY.

I only had a no-neck c/collar & duct tape (for c/s stabilization in place) stopped some bleeding from a cut over her eye that was running into her eye/reducing her vision. Held the woman's hand. Calmed her. Prayed with her. Held her while my fire brethren covered us under heavy protective blankets (to protect us from glass and sharp debris) as they basically cut that car completely apart to get her out and save her foot/leg. Then I accompanied her on to the hospital continuing to care for her.

She later went to the city tertiary care that evening by emergency ground ambulance.

I don't recall where I was going that evening, but I didn't make it.

A state police trooper took me back to my car after I got a shower at the hospital and some scrubs (I had quite a bit of blood and debris on me and I'd gotten a few abrasions - most likely from the 30' scale down the enbankment to reach the patient).

The extrication itself from first cut took almost 50 minutes.

I wasn't in charge of that call - strangely right? - but, think I she could have benefitted from a helo transport to a Trauma Center. In those days, the dogma was being challenged (I challenged it a lot) but others often did not, as the local hospital insisted helicopters could not be called by field crews (which was total horse****). I basically walked in the administrators office after this call and announced that Code of Fed Regs is clear that until a patient is on your property you have no relationship to that patient - legally, fiduciary or otherwise. I asked if I was unclear or missing something. That nothing in state regulations or laws was prohibitive and I was not going to be traveling 40 miles of rural mountain roads with critical or trauma patients IF air medical was an option. Could we get together on an option that saved lives?

Doing the best we can for our patient's means doing it better tomorrow than we did today.

The fact that THIS patient's daughter wrote me that letter when I was just a paramedic student meant everything to me. And the fact is, all I did was good 'ol basic care and a healthy dose of kindness.

It reminded me that when you strip away all the toys, technology, meds, my team, the trucks and everything - you are it.

As NURSES, MEDICS, EMS we are often there at the worst moments of someone's life. We see lots of those moments. TOO MANY.

Rest assured everyone, we may not remember every patient - but there's a good chance that patient/family remembers us.

It was the worst day of their life.

I've had so many now, I'm not sure I could list them all. I might be able to over weeks - the patients and stories come to me, then I remember another few 'I forgot' and something reminds of a patient or a family on the TV - you get the idea.

That letter I got from the call above reminded me to be in the moment. Hold someone's hand, explain what's happening. Take 30 seconds (or 6 hours) to look in their eyes (or their families eyes) and make a connection and calm a fear, answer a question. Let them see that I understand.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Death is our enemy. We valiantly fight it. Most of the time we lose.

We still come back to fight again another day. Maybe we learned something in the last fight that will help someone survive in the next battle.

I wanted my patients to know, above all, I was a warrior.

A warrior that would still hold your hand.

:angel:

[bd2rn]

"I'm glad it was you who took care of my loved one when s/he was dying." I've been told that a number of times, and I can think of no greater honor.

[Roy Hanson]

thank you!

[Truth_be-told]

I get them all the time. Just because I hate management people and the self anointed government geniuses that hyper regulate us and tie our hands does not affect my focus. The sick, injured, crippled, and dying who entrust their well being to me. I don't work for the company, the corporation, the government, etc etc. I work for the people. 'You saved my mother's life', 'I am so glad you are here', 'Nobody else knows what they aqe doing', 'I feel safe knowing you are here', etc etc. That's because i listen to them, talk to them, get to know them, become friends with them, and bring them comfort and happiness. They are what drives me. But that is not how the omniscient government thinks. They have this foolish notion that the quality of care can be measured by the never ending redundant and sendseless paperwork we do, rather than by patient and family satisfaction feedback and surveys. So the best nurses and caregivers can't maximize their very limited time making people happy and keeping them safe, content, and comfortable, we have our hands tied and our effectiveness minimized by meeting government demands for reimbursement, because their budgets are drying up and they place a priority over health, human services, social programs, and safety nets over with warfare, violence, and empire building. In between the losing battle where guns will win out over butter, I maintain my focus on those we took an oath or otherwise should be seving...those in need. The sick, disabled, crippled, and dying. What a chance to advance the better side of yourselves and to give to others unselfishly until that is taken away from us or the ever dwindling funds are taken away or stolen from us to fund violence, killing, and warfare

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

One of them was from an awesome IV specialist that is my colleague.She sent me to go start an IV on a patient that she had tried and could not get and when I came back and reported that it was done she said, " You are the best I have ever seen on getting peripherals in".It meant so much to me because it came from someone who does the same thing and I respect immensely.I rarely have to use US but will if I have to as I learned so many yesrs ago and my only tools were my hands and my intellect.