What's the nicest thing a patient has done for you?

[RN always]

The other day a patient baked me a homemade berry pie and brought it up to the floor with a really nice note saying some of the sweetest things! It made me feel so special!

[JBudd, MSN]

Well, this was from all the great folks I work with rather than a patient: when my dh was diagnosed with CA, everyone donated enough sick leave that I was able to take care of him at home for 4 1/2 months on full pay.

[adean]

I have only been nursing about 8 monthes. But, what a reward it has been. I get up every morning with a smile on my face waiting to see my patients. I had a patient die the other night. So, it was a downhill battle allnight and I pretty much stayed in the room with the family until it was over. They told me and hugged me for what seemed like days telling me how glad they were that I was the nurse there when their mother passed away. It was sssssooooo hard fighting back the tears that morning and as I went out of the room I realized just how much it had touches my life as well.

April

[clee1]

A sincere thank you always pulls on my heart strings.

:yeahthat:

I am not an overly-emotional fellow, and am still in school. However, I get a large number of sincere "Thank you for taking such good care of me" comments for my pts on clinical rotations.

Every time, I have to seek out a quiet place to regain my composure...

[FreshRN05]

For me the best thing is........SIMPLY A SMLE of contentment from the care I give them.....that is all I want from my patients...and I can honsetly say I do get that often.....I may be new in my profession and is still considered unexperienced but I make sure that I give my patients the utmost care they deserve and in return a smile of content is what I always get.....(knock on woods..so far I have not encountered rude patients/family...yeah...demanding maybe but as long as I can grant their demand, it's not a problem)

[royr]

Last week my patient prayed over her noon meal, thanking God for her food, and her nurse (me) and the care I was giving her that was beyond any she had experienced. I was touched, and tears were in my eyes. This gift far surpassed any food, candy, or other physical gifts I have ever received. It has firmed my resolve to continue on my path to become a licenced nurse.

[NEC1970]

lot's of experiences come to mind. i received a beautiful mug with chocolates inside recently. the most touching are the words spoken from a patient after they been through hell and back with all the invasive procedures, intubated and really, really sick and they mouth thank you and reach out for your hand. that gets me every time.

andrew

[lpnstudentin2010, LPN]

I just want to know...would it be thought of as wierd by an or nurse to get a thank you note along with a request that if possible they be my or nurse again? cuz i did this and i fear she thought it was wierd

[lpnstudentin2010, LPN]

Well, this was from all the great folks I work with rather than a patient: when my dh was diagnosed with CA, everyone donated enough sick leave that I was able to take care of him at home for 4 1/2 months on full pay.

that is SO SWEET

[lisaow]

A ten year old boy wrote me a hand-written apology letter for being a "smarty pants". I LOVED IT. It was completely unprompted by anyone (he didn't have parents...).

[moonshadeau, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, APN, NP, CNS]

The nicest thing a patient ever did for me was when I was still back in nursing school working as a Nurse Tech in a LTC. I had met this gentleman during one of my clinical rotations on an inpatient drug and alcohol facility. Then shortly after he came to stay at the LTC facility that I had worked for. He was a younger man (50's) who was stuck in a life of an 90 year old. He was on the waiting list for a new liver and had to stay clean for 6 months. One day he decided that he was going to go spend time up with his family at the casino. Except he didn't have a ride back. Here I am thinking that I can "save" this patient in my naive sense and we had quite the few words, he didn't end up going. I only worked the weekends and he deteriorated rapidly going in and out of the hospital several times with high ammonia levels and liver failure. During Christmas I came into work and found a small bear in a bag. The note said from "santa", but I was told that it was from this patient. He had spent his own money to get me something small. When I asked where he was, I was told that earlier in the week he had basically walked out of the facility to the nearest bar and drank himself to death. So here I was holding a christmas present from a patient that was already gone. It was very sad. I still have the bear to this day.

[steelcityrn, RN]

Besides all the candy and angel pins, my favorite was the call to the office to come pick up some homemade stuffed pork chops, from the wife of a patient. OMG were they tasty!!!

[Brita01]

Years ago when I was a home health aide, I took care of a 36 yo patient with Lou Gehrig's Disease. The only way that she was able to communicate was by smiling yes or frowning no while you pointed to letters on a message board. One day we were watching television and a commercial came on advertising a "Pure Moods" CD that I planned on buying eventually. While I gave her her bath, I gabbed on like I usually do and mentioned how I wanted to buy that CD. The commercial went off, and I continued to gab on about other stuff. Months passed and Christmas came. I had never bought that CD. However when I went in to give my patient her bath that Christmas eve, she had her mother present me with a gift. When I unwrapped it, I couldn't believe it. It was the Pure Moods CD that I had mentioned in passing months ago. When she saw the look on my face, she just smiled and smiled and made noises like she was trying to laugh. Not only had she remembered that I wanted it, but she found a way to communicate to her mother to get it for me. That was one of the best gifts I've ever received. :biggringi