Your Favorite Part

june2009 · Jun 10, 2014

When you catch something before it becomes a major problem. Example: One of my residents doesn't look right, color poor, maybe their O2 sat is 92% (which in my facility is acceptable) but they are normally 98-99%, and the resp rate is a little high. You bring it to M.D.'s attention and they order a cxr that shows an infiltrate or effusion. Treatment begins and the resident improves. But if you didn't catch it they could have gone in to full blown failure requiring a transport to the hospital. Makes me feel great!

Helping a resident die with dignity, peacefully. Getting hospice on board early so the resident can be comfortable. Also, during that difficult time, being there for the family. Going that extra mile to make the process as easy as possible for them. Maybe you take a few minutes to get them a tray from the kitchen with coffee and some sandwiches and snacks. Helping them understand the process their loved one is going through.

I once had a husband and wife that were living together in the same room. The husband was a chronic COPDer and started to go down hill. He required transport to the ED and ended up intubated in the unit. His wife was able to get a ride there but had to be back in our facility at midnight for insurance purposes (She was on IV antibiotics) she also needed to get her night time meds. After midnight she could leave the facility but had no way to get back to the hospital that her husband was in. The physicians in the ICU didn't think her husband was going to make it through the night. I was going home so I told her I would drive her to the hospital so she could be with her husband of 50 some years. I took her to the hospital, got her settled, and sat with her for a while. She stayed the night and he died around 0700 that morning. She was able to get a ride back to our facility then. She told me she would never forget the kindness that I did for her. That's my favorite part of nursing?

tytkhat · Jun 10, 2014

I still recall fond memories of working in a NH as a CNA. We worked hard as a team and those residents would shine like new pennies after bath, hair, nails, and skin care. There were few episodes of incontinence, as we had them on a pretty predicable toileting schedule. We actually looked forward to inspections from the state, and passed with flying colors. We had a four or five stars for several years. Sadly, I had to leave shortly after becoming an LPN. As an RN, when I could catch a bleed with a blown pupil, or newly DM pt going into DKA, it was memorable.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2014

My favorite aspect of the job?

It's the fact that I work night shift, which means significantly less interaction with patients' family members, management, and colleagues from other disciplines.

The workplace feels good when the crowd has been eliminated.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jun 10, 2014

I work in Peds ICU and peds home care. Children do not enjoy being sick. At all. THAT, in and of itself, makes my job enjoyable.

All my inpatients want is to get the heck outta the bed and outta Dodge. You do not have to coax and cajole a child to get up and move. In fact, sometimes you spend all night convincing them that they should stay IN the bed! :)

calivianya, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2014

I don't think you're going to hear many people talking about benefits or salary, because most places are cutting benefits like you won't believe as a cost-saving measure and our salaries suck compared to what we do. At least mine does...

Anyway, agreeing with june2009 on one of my favorite parts of the job - catching/fixing something before it harms or kills the patient. I enjoy coming onto a shift and seeing a heart failure patient on single concentration pressors, getting them changed to quad strength and getting Lasix, and watching the patient improve almost immediately. I like noticing that first couple of hours where the urine drops under 30/hr and getting boluses to try and keep the kidneys working. Catching that a freshly extubated patient is starting to sound a little tight/wheezy and calling to get extra bronchodilators and a steroid so his/her airway doesn't close off and hearing clear breath sounds by the end of the shift... pestering the living daylights out of a pneumonia patient whose affected lung is just about totally whited out to keep coughing up all of that nasty stuff and being able to get them off the BiPAP by the end of the night even though at the beginning of the shift, they would desat into the 80s on 50% venti... stuff like that. I like to see something I do make a measurable, quantifiable change in the patient's condition. Those are the nights that I am happiest at work.

Mandychelle79, ASN, RN · Jun 10, 2014

My favorite part of my job is when a patient is talking to me, looks at me and says, I have never told anyone that before, and by finally trusting someone with the secret they have been holding onto for so long, they can finally begin to heal.

My other favorite part is dealing with those who have addictions. I try to be the nurse/person I would have wanted my cousin to have when she started her recovery journey. It often comes to a surprise to the patients when I do not treat them like they are expecting to be treated.

amoLucia · Jun 11, 2014

I work in Peds ICU and peds home care. Children do not enjoy being sick. At all. THAT, in and of itself, makes my job enjoyable.
All my inpatients want is to get the heck outta the bed and outta Dodge. You do not have to coax and cajole a child to get up and move. In fact, sometimes you spend all night convincing them that they should stay IN the bed! :)

You know, I never thought about 'kids not enjoying being sick'. Then compare this to the ADULT drama kings and queens who just revel in the sick role.

What a monumental thought!

amoLucia · Jun 11, 2014

Re OP's thread - sometimes, every now and then, when you least expect it, somebody will do something that just takes your breath away that you made an impact on them.

Example - A pt who always says 'thank you' sincerely when all you've done is just given them their pills like you do every morning. Just an honest simple 'thank you' after your care regardless how small.

Example - When you're leaving in the morning, a really nice coworker always says 'drive safe' as you're passing by in the hall on your way out. Like you start to look forward to the 'drive safe'.

These things really did happen. And there are others.

In all the craziness of what we do, there are some itty bitty nuggets of positivity.

RNperdiem, RN · Jun 11, 2014

I love an extubation. This is where an ICU patient is taken off the ventilator when they are ready to breathe on their own. The endotracheal tube is taken out and the patient can talk and breathe again. This is a big step in transforming a bed ridden ICU patient into a person getting better. Even better is when their visitors see them for the first time off the vent, sitting up in a chair and smiling. I guess I like to see patients improve over the course of my shift. Whatever happens at work, that makes for a good day.

SeattleJess · Jun 12, 2014

My favorite part of my job is when a patient is talking to me, looks at me and says, I have never told anyone that before, and by finally trusting someone with the secret they have been holding onto for so long, they can finally begin to heal.
My other favorite part is dealing with those who have addictions. I try to be the nurse/person I would have wanted my cousin to have when she started her recovery journey. It often comes to a surprise to the patients when I do not treat them like they are expecting to be treated.

Bless you! It was a person like you who made it possible for my father to die 4o years sober, a completely different man than the one I knew as a child. It wasn't so much the sentence that she said as it was the lack of judgment and the compassion in her voice. My father would always mist up when he told the story of that turning point in his life.

Thank you for your service to people who are suffering.

Nola009 · Jun 12, 2014

I work in LTC and have so many sweet, cute, or cantankerous residents whom I enjoy caring for. However, much to my surprise, I most enjoy encouraging and mentoring the younger CNAs I work with. They do such a good job. Many of them are attending school, or looking into it, and I really like seeing them learn and grow.