Your Favorite Part

tokmom, BSN, RN · Jun 12, 2014

The thank you's I get from patient families, even at the time of death.

I once had a family with three kids. The mom had since passed and dad was dying. During the process, I kept them informed on what I was doing to keep him comfortable, and I talked to him and told him what I was going to do for him. After he passed, and the family said their good byes, I gave them each a big hug.

A year later, during an open house our hospital was having, a woman came up to me and touched my shoulder. I didn't recognize her right away, and I think it showed, so she introduced herself as the daughter of Mr. B. Of course the light bulb came, and I asked how things were going. She said she came by in hopes of seeing me here, and wanted to thank me for caring for her dad while he passed. She said it made her healing easier, because I had encouraged them to talk to him.

I almost said to her, what every nurse says..."just doing my job", but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't not want to trivialize her thank you, if that makes sense, or give her the feeling her dad was just another patient that died.

It made me think though. What we think is just another day at the work, can have impact on either the patient or family member 12 months later.

So for me, the thank you's mean the most. It makes the difficult parts of the job worth it.

misstrinad · Jun 23, 2014

I work With dementia pts in ltc and I love it. It's always crazy and they drive me nuts but we get a chance to get so close to our residents and their families and I get to be there (most of the time) from admission to death. The thank you s from the families make the craziness worth it.

I love making sure a resident passes away comfortably. I love the rare moments of clarity they have. I love that even though they can't remember the name of their children they know me by face and seek me out when they need assistance. I love catching little things that make a difference in their quality of life. I love tucking them into bed with their baby dolls next to them and having them reach for a hug and while telling me they love me. I love working as a team. I love having drs and np s respect my opinion.

misstrinad · Jun 23, 2014

I also love that I have a set 2 week block schedule 7am-330pm. It just repeats itself. So I know months a head of time exactly what my schedule is so I can plan around my family. They can't change my schedule or take it from me unless I give it up, of heaven forbid get fired. There's days I have to stay and work overtime of course. It happens. There is always extra shifts I can pick up for extra money. Needed extra cash to pay for my daughter's summer day care program so I picked up a couple extra shifts and I had it.

Balto · Jun 24, 2014

I love the connection I develop by treating every patient to the best of my ability. What keeps me level headed even with the most difficult patient is "how would I want my family member to be treated?".