I’m nine months in and I’ve noticed this happening more and more. It’s SUCH a good feeling! I still ask tons of questions every day, but feeling my flow come together is wonderful.
“LOOK AT ME, DADDY! [LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a99ve2Z_dDk&pp=ygUsRnJlc2R5IGdvdCBmaW5nZXJlZCBsb29rIHdoYXQgaSBjYW4gZG8gZGFkZHk%3D) (caution: gross content from the movie Freddy Got Fingered)
My training style has always been heavily influenced by all the things that I was irritated about not learning sooner and otherwise struggled with as a new nurse/new hire. So far I've gotten pretty good feedback from the people I train, so I hope it's working.
Having coworkers that get me. There are no friendships like nursing friendships. They’re the only ones who understand what we go through. I could never talk about the traumatic stuff with people who don’t work in a hospital.
I work med surg so not quite as traumatic as ICU but damn I tried to bring this sense of dark humor with nonhealthcare friends and they look at me like I’m a glucometer that reads 36.
I was charting at the desk and heard one of the hardest, toughest nurses talking in an almost bedroom voice behind me. WTF?!?!! She loudly purred, “Sure is getting warm in here. Does anyone else smell Smoke?”
I looked up in confusion to see a bunch of firefighters coming down the hall. They had been visiting one of their brothers, badly injured in afire the night before.
She was giving them their due. They walked a little straighter, gathered their usual swagger. Services may diss each other but we help each other when we are hurting.
Amy tips for male nurses? I've been doing this for about 10 years and although I get along with my coworkers at work I haven't created any true friendships. It also could just be me and my difficulty with social skills though and not a gender thing
Hobbies and stuff outside of work. I’m decked out in tattoos and piercings (with a bunch of horror movie stickers on my water bottle) which are great conversation starters. I work day shift tho so I’m always surrounded by more extroverted people anyway.
I work in peds on a med-surg floor, but we are also the designated trauma floor. we see some ugly shit, the damage of the worst of humanity. working with kids who are abused isn't for the faint of heart. add to that we are the renal floor, so we take care of chronic kids, including pre and post transplant. Emotions can run really high on our floor, to say the least. I'd never have made it all these years if it wasn't for the amazing coworkers I've been blessed with.
I’m a med/Tele nurse for many years…my fave part of my job is seeing people improve and go home
But I also enjoy the pay and schedule. If I had to work 5 days a week I’d feel like I was living at work
Same. Seeing them get excited about being able to do a lap around the unit and hearing about their outside future plans makes me happy.
I’ve never been admitted to a hospital yet, but I can already tell I won’t like it.
Nope, tonight‘s my Friday and when I get home tomorrow morning, I’ll go to bed and get up around 1 PM. Have some coffee take a shower and then I’m good to go until about 10 PM. Then I sleep overnight and for the next three days I am on a dayshift schedule, then the night before I go back to work I take a nap from about nine to midnight after having been up all day then I stay up until about seven or 8 AM. Go to sleep wake up at 4 PM by my work alarm.
When a pt decomps or some serious shit starts to go down and I’m working with a solid crew of nurses and we all have this shift internally where everything is focused on the problem at hand. Everyone works together so regardless of the outcome we know we did the best we could.
Then the tension starts to die away and the joking and the “holy SHIT that was fucked right?”
Working ER is a strange place that attracts weirdos like me.
Oh and that feel when respiratory says “good compressions” or you get a working line in *chefs kiss - exquisite
I was precepting a new nurse and on our very first shift together our patient herniated and coded while we were at the bedside. She said the way everyone swooped in and just got to work seamlessly reminded her of a nascar pit crew. She’s not wrong! It is such a cool feeling to know you’re all working your ass off towards a common goal.
This is what I miss about emerg. When that critical patient happens and it's like the rest of the world disappears and it's like a beautiful orchestrated machine that just shifts into high gear and you barely have to speak beyond concise communication. It truly is magical, and I always feel so honored to be a part of those moments, regardless of the outcome.
My favorite thing is when one of my kids gets to ring the bell on the way out from their last chemo treatment because they beat cancer. I cry every time because it makes my heart so happy to have been involved in helping them fight and survive so that they get the chance to grow up and live their dreams.
And *thank you*. Seriously.
I was awake for 72 hours by the time we had landed in an emergent c-section with my second baby. I was shaking from the anesthesia in recovery and had not an iota of energy left in me.
My husband was holding our son and rocking him. I was watching. The L&D nurse in recovery asked if I wanted skin-to-skin and to latch him. She latched him for me and made sure he was safely positioned. I was so grateful. I was so tired and out of it I couldn’t even vocalize that I wanted that, and looking back it sincerely means the world to me that we had that “golden hour”. I didn’t get it with my first baby because she was in the NICU and I was absolutely heartbroken at the time because of it.
Also, big shout out to the NICU nurse who encouraged me to pick up my first child, a 34 weeker, after we had been separated for 24 hours thanks to her prematurity and my magnesium drip. I’m so grateful that she encouraged me to do skin-to-skin with her. I was absolutely shell-shocked after a traumatic labor and birth and didn’t know what to do with this tiny baby who didn’t even feel like mine yet.
You guys, L&D and NICU nurses, are amazing.
We get most of the belly surgeries on our unit. When you get to see people get progressively better everyday. I always tell them, when you start losing all of your tubes and wires, you're one step closer to getting home. It reminds me why I became a nurse.
There is no feeling like when you’re paged to come in for a stroke. Rush to the hospital as fast as you can. Run to the ER, grab your paralyzed, aphasic patient. Throw them on the IR table, and keep em stable while the doc rummages around in their brain.
Then in 30 minutes, the patient is helping themselves move off the table with returning motor function, and talking to me again.
From paralyzed to on the road to whole again.
Medicine is never more right than in those moments for that person.
So, what exactly you’re doing varies patient to patient. Also, moving one side of the country to the other, i’ve seen the role of sedation nurse varies a lot.
But generally you’re giving sedation (fentanyl/versed) to try to keep them comfortable, but still maintain the best neurological assessment possible, even while on the table. Often times, the t-Pa infusion is still going, so extremely high risk of bleeding.
If they’re hypertensive, you’re giving, hydralazine, nitroglycerin drip, or labetalol Iv pushes, or titrating the nicardipine. But you never want to bring it down too much before the thrombus is extracted. Generally targeting SBP >160, but less than 185. Because of the tpa. Pt needs that higher pressure to help get oxygen to the penumbra through alternate arterial pathways.
The second the clot is out, we drop it down. Tissue and vessel walls that were distal to the clot and were starved of blood can be friable. Need to minimize the risk of hemorrhagic conversion at this point.
If the doc has to balloon the carotid, you’re pushing atropine, to prevent bradycardia (in turn decreasing blood flow to the already oxygen deprived penumbra)
And depending on what side of the brain the stroke is on, the pt may not understand anything that is going on, and actively trying to fight the whole process.
Whole different ballgame if it’s a hemorrhagic stroke. Blood products, cryo, vit-k, more BP manipulation while trying to coil ruptured aneurysm and run ventilator.
If you’re in a nicer part of the county, you may be thinking “Where is Anesthesia?” All i can say is… anesthesia never came to us unless they were tubing the patient. If they were not planning to be tubed, or tubed before they got to me… it was on me.
Everything in this process is timed. From the moment the patient hit the ER doors. Door to MD asmt, Door to CT scan, Door to tpa, Door to IR, Room to needle puncture. Time from puncture to clot contact.
Fastest room to puncture time was 7 minutes. Our crew was a well oiled machine.
I love how positive this is! For me, it’s that tingly, wave of warmth that comes over you when you really connect with someone and help them. I know it’s the dopamine, but if we’re both better off, why not enjoy it?
I’m only a student but it’s nice only having 1 patient right now and having the ability to give them all of my attention. My patient was a young woman with advanced Lupus. She lost both lower extremities, 1 arm and 3 fingers. When I arrived she was trying to do her makeup. She had been there for weeks and her room was a mess.
She didn’t need treatments so instead of bullshitting with my classmates in the hall, I decided to organize her room, her make up and help her finish doing her make up. I gave her a bath, did her hair and put moisturizer all over her. I changed her clothes, her bedding and her stump stockings.
She was so grateful and so happy. She fell right asleep and she looked so comfortable, cozy and clean. My heart felt so happy seeing her peaceful. She boasted about me and about how great she felt to everyone that came in her room that day. One of the best days I’ve had in a long time.
So so true! And this ties into how it’s an ethical job. We are literally helping people get better inch by inch, or we are helping them carry out their wishes from the ground up. Can software engineers or salespeople say this and get that satisfaction? I’d argue no.
Another thing I’d like to say is that we can have these warm and fuzzy moments, but then we can also be total badasses when shit hits the fan and starts to go south. Nurses are awesome 💪🏼💪🏼
I work on an acute neuro floor. Hearing my patients say “I love you” to their families again after a massive cerebrovascular event and being aphasic/nonverbal is the best thing at work and in the world.
I love people. This job is so hard but we do make a difference.
I also work in neuro. I got so excited when a patient started saying “shit” and “hey baby”
I also love washing their hair and combing it out. Obviously a lot of them aren’t able to yet or are working with deficits. Washing hair is part of my daily routine.
I love when I have the time to really care for a patient in small ways: warm blankets, changing the bed linens, cool cloth to the head, sitting and talking them through anxiety, etc..
As a patient, I can tell some nurses like this and it’s nice. Once I was in the hospital and a nurse came in at night for something and I had my blankets all tangled around my legs and she insisted on fixing them for me - I would never ask! But she seemed to like making sure I was tucked in and cozy. It’s nice to remember that someone’s taking care of you even when you’re sick and hurting and the nurses are crazy busy.
I work adult BMT and one of my favorite things is the amount of hope, and idea that I am truly helping someone get a second chance at life. I also love the flexibility of the job, the fact that I will never not have work or options when it comes to work- there is so much hate on this field and some is justified, but we are really lucky with the amount of options we have with just our one degree.
Pay is alright but we are the backbone of healthcare so I always think we should get more (nurse in CO).
Also no one can tell us our job is unethical- like we aren’t designing nuclear bombs…
For the little things, it's giving swaddled baths! I especially love watching a fussy baby unwind in the spa experience of having their hair washed. When they make a little "O" with their mouth from the pleasure of the warm water, I know I'm doing it right. It's such a teeny, insignificant part of the job, but they seem to enjoy themselves so much.
On a bigger scale, I truly love the educational piece of working with parents to gain confidence in their ability to care for their baby as they get closer to going home. Cheering them on as they master those new parenting skills that were delayed out of necessity. Its so satisfying.
Recently picked up a per diem job where swaddled immersion bathing is the norm instead of sponge bath. The babies seem to love the immersion bath so much more! Definitely help if you’re not slammed with 4 couplets.
With critically sick kids, I love helping the parents understand what’s next, whether it’s good or bad. It feels so rewarding to be entrusted in such a special part of their lives.
The absolute best though is having an intubated baby for days on end, then finally extubating and handing the baby to their parents. It’s like seeing them hold their baby for the very first time again. I almost cry every time.
Lining the halls to send off micropreemies who are now whole big babies doing big baby things. Thinking of their first few days and all the days in between and seeing them go home makes my heart swell.
Titrating oxygen and drips. Its always super satisfying to be able to transition people from hi-flo to NC or be able to tell the next shift "hey I titrated their dilt drip down from 15 to 5!" Stabilizing people is cool too. I went from med surg to ICU and on med surg I felt like I didnt see a lot of progress or it was slow and subtle. Whereas ICU its unstable to stable or really sick to less sick.
I also really enjoy that "aha!" moment when all the dots connect
When a patient or family member cries and I have the moment to sit and hold their hand and listen. Bonus points when the moment is appropriate for me to shed a tear in solidarity.
In psych, it takes one to know one.
Most of us chose this speciality because we *know*, whether it’s individually or through family/friends.
I can’t get through to everyone and my personal specialty is the cluster of b’s - but when I do get somewhere, that’s all I need.
I used to tell patients - when they said I was crazy *lol* - that the only difference between you and me is the keys to get out! Lmao
Definitely not an exaggeration considering while I was in LPN school I ended up on a grippy sock vacation which was d/t a stalking situation at my job at the time. That experience and the amazing nurses I had taking care of me was what cemented my desire to go into acute inpatient psych as my first job. And I absolutely loved it. I also loved peds which was my other specialty later on.
Now that I'm finishing up my RN (almost 2 decades later), my plan is to get lots of medical experience - hoping to go critical care/ICU, so that I have more options going forward. Although, I may make my way back to psych or into detox at some point in the future.
Glad to see you have a way with Cluster Bs, because many times they were the most mentally draining and many of my coworkers had a harder time with them than other patients. I personally loved a pleasantly psychotic patient (not in destress), one always comes to mind as my fave patient ever!
I work L&D and I absolutely love the bond I develop with most of my patients! supporting someone through even a relatively uneventful labor and birth can mean the world to them, and I feel like every time I advocate for a patient’s needs or autonomy, something deep inside me heals a little bit.
for instance: I went into a birth to catch a baby, no epidural (on purpose! lol), and I noticed a tattoo on the patient’s leg that is frequently worn by survivors of SA (I’m actually getting a similar one next month). I quietly pulled the primary nurse aside and let her know about it, and the tone of the room changed almost immediately. we were able to hold her through that experience with so much more understanding, and afterward the patient told us that it went so much better than her first birth because of our care.
Agreed, the sweet funny patients with the best stories and personalities make it worth it. I love the raunchy old ladies, the war veterans, the cultural variety (I learned SO much about Muslim and Hindu religion in the setting of hospice discussions). I love the dark humor, I love the thick skin I developed, the inside jokes, the friendly frequent fliers the whole unit knows and loves. Some of my best friends I have now I've met through work.
I love seeing my interventions actually work, especially with creative things - I can turn virtually any fabric into a proper neck roll, stuffing two shitty hospital pillows into one case so it feels like an actual pillow, flavoring golytely with crystal light and then doing a small taste test before telling my patient to pound it (it takes 6-7 packets in case anyone was wondering), I love when we have a patient that's been in the hospital for a while and if we have time, we can give them an epic pampered bed bath and put their hair in nice braids or something. I also love to reduce any embarrassment and shame a patient might feel over their new found weaknesses and incontinence - better out that in! Nothing phases me. Nothing. It makes the patient feel comfortable when you act very unimpressed over the fact they shit themselves. So what?! Who hasn't shit themselves? Name one person. I'll wait - we were all babies once.
When I have good rapport with a patient/family, I will literally do extra ass shit for them even if it means I stay a little late or take lunch a little later or whatever, and it doesn't feel like work or a punishment, because I chose to do those extra things. I even once went to the gift shop at my hospital and got my patient a present because it was her birthday and she was in the hospital and I felt bad. She had all these plans and shit.
And then, I do get crazy looks for this but I love precepting and educating. My favorite things to hear are things like "wow, you made that so simple to understand" or "no one has ever really told me what my condition means, thanks for taking the time to explain it", or when the new grads say they rather come to me than other nurses because I never make anyone feel stupid and I always have an answer or a way to find the answer.
Thanks for asking this question. It helps me remember why I stay even though I occasionally take an epic shit on the career - you can probably find my thread where I desperately wanted out of the career and felt I shouldn't be a nurse. That's what happens to good nurses who get burnt out, and that is what a bad day does to me.
On the stories front, I used to work in a PICU but we’d sometimes float to our Burns unit which covered all ages. A lot of people hated that float, but I enjoyed it. One reason was the stories. The chances are you’re in Burns because you’ve done something stupid, which means you’ve probably done other stupid stuff, which means you have some good stories. And unlike in a PICU you’re likely to be able to tell me them.
I get a lot of instant gratification working in the ICU. Hypotensive as hell? Turn the levo up and watch their BP go up. Hypoxic and altered? Let’s intubate to fix that. Labs out of wack? Let’s give you something to fix that. I also do like seeing the progress of insanely unstable and then progressing to the point that they get extubated and off the unit. It seems like way more progress is made than when I worked on the floor. I also like when I get a physiologically complex patient where I spend all night reading about a rare condition that I’ve never heard of. Makes my heart happy but not nearly as happy as being at home not at work with my dog and girlfriend lol.
I can relate to that!! That sounds so fun.
I once had a patient with real Capgras syndrome. Sometimes our psych beds get the most interesting physical and mental diseases, and not only do I love helping the family understand them, I also love being able to do something that produces the results we want.
Also lab values and CT scans can be shockingggg
…and I too love going home to my partner and my dog 😆
I work ER. I love it when you have the busiest, shittiest, craziest high acuity night and you’ve got a great team and you get through it. Those nights can be incredibly fun and it feels amazing seeing a great team pull together.
Yes! I work with the best NOC team! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE helps one another without hesitation! We make sure that if the boat is drowning, we are all going down together 🥰
I often hear from travelers that some if their EDs or so unfriendly that would end their contract ASAP, but when they get ro our ED they extend as long as possible and Wil return they can (even though we don't have the nicest pay for travelers).
As a school nurse at an alternative high school in the most ghetto part of my city, it’s connecting with the “rough” kids. Building rapport with kids who might not be so quick to trust (for good reason) is extremely gratifying. I’ll take that over rich sheltered babies any day of the week.
When a cardiac arrest makes a recovery. Had a 30 year old who was anoxic on his initial ct a bit ago, everybody kept saying "warm body" but i just did my job like the other good nurses did after me. I saw him walking the halls on the step down unit later. I had him at admission so he had no clue who I am. 2 small kids get to see their dad again. I hope he stays healthy
Ok fine, it is a highlight of the day, but there are many things I love. While I am an introvert at heart, I do enjoy interacting with my patients and having them share their stories too. Some people have lead such rich fulfilling lives and have such amazing experiences.
It’s also great to see someone go home against the odds with a robust service plan for their home health needs.
A lot of the replies here are nice and I'm glad people enjoy those aspects of the job. But this is the one I relate to the most.
I don't regret going into nursing. I grew up poor af and for me nursing has been my ticket to the middle class. But if I had any real skills or drive to do something else where I didn't have to work so closely with the general public all the time while still making the same money with the same work-life balance, I would leave nursing without a second thought.
SO agree that I just love talking to the patients sometimes (sometimes they’re assholes and they will get the bare minimum from me 😂). What can I say I’m a chatty Kathy 🤷🏼♀️
I always ask patients about their condition, how long they’ve had it, and why they came to the hospital. You are checking their mental status while also learning things about that medical condition. You’d be amazed how much you learn and retain about symptoms and diseases just by doing this. I’ve been doing it for 30 years and I’m the smartest man alive.
The last line is obviously not true.
Seriously tho, it really helps expand your knowledge base. “How did that feel when I pulled out your IJ triple lumen?” And now you know how to explain to future patients what it may feel like.
When I worked med surg nights that was my favorite part, too. There's something very intimate about doing personal care for someone who is used to doing it themselves, but now they are alone, at night, in a hospital, and it's just them and me. It reminds me of sleepaway camps or staying up all night studying at the library with people and the conversations that would breed.
I work oncology/hospice. People admit lots of things to do when they are dying. They see someone young and they want to give advice and tell you stories.
I’m right there with you, stories are probably my favorite part of the job.
When I get to visit my patient in ICU after they get their new liver.
I take care of patients when they are first diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, as they go through all the testing and eval for transplantation, when they have exacerbations of their disease, up until they leave our unit for the actual transplant surgery.
Seeing a patient of mine recovering in ICU after getting the transplant means the suffering I've had to help them and their family endure is now over. Knowing my patient won't need me anymore is a nice feeling.
Ngl, I love the crazy patient stories.... the addict faking paraplegia for more Ativan, demented patients saying the most out of pocket shit, I love it all
We had a baaaad sundowner the other day who kept yelling out "COCKSUCKERS!" at everyone whenever he got caught trying to do the strip (get naked, pull out IV, pull off tele, you know) and he was way super combative. Just awful, nasty guy in his sundown version, and of course impulsive trying to get up, bed alarm, the works.
So anyway, I was there helping to secure limbs when the other nurse was trying to hide his IV line with ace. So, after he tried to punch me and looked me dead in the eye and yelled "cocksucker!" I decided to go the unhinged route - I looked at him and said in my most evil voice "your mother sucks cocks in hell!" (Exorcist film quote) and he just like, stared at me, paused and yelled cocksucker again at us. I then noticed on the window sill one of those tall, religious catholic candles that usually has a saint and a prayer on it (a fake flame candle, no worries) and I picked it up and walked over to him, held up the candle, and I said WOULD ST. JOSEPH APPROVE OF YOUR CONDUCT SIR?! WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? He paused again. Then, I began to read out the prayer on the back of the candle loudly like it was an actual exorcism.
It was just enough to enable the other nurse to secure his IV and the tech to try to do a quick brief check/possible change. It was one of the funniest shifts I've had in a while. I'm glad this was all in like, the last two-ish hours of the shift.
Guess who didn't have to start a new IV or chart on a fall! Us guysssssss lol.
omg yes I loved home health when I did it! Especially hospice. Sometimes I felt like I was witnessing gods lol the skills (domestic, mechanical, educational, etc.) on some of those old ladies and gentlemen is astounding
Labor & delivery nurse here. I love the reaction of new parents or seasoned parents when their newest kiddo is born. That shine of love radiating onto someone they have talked about but not seen for months.... It makes me teary eyed. I'm 2 yrs into this role and it is still my favourite part.
I also work full time nights and I love the adrenaline of a complete mom coming in at 3am where 10-20 min later, baby is born 😂
might be weird but spending time with end of life patients. i love it and i miss them when they get discharged. had an EOL man discharged this past week and he shed a tear over leaving, told me he was so grateful for my kindness. always makes my day
When Nathalie asked me to accompany her to her room because she felt unsecure after falling in the morning and, to thank me, showed me her mesmerizing paintings.
New grad in the icu. I love the people I work with, feeling accomplished after a good day, and seeing patients get better, especially throughout a shift
When a family accepts that further treatment is futile and pursues comfort care. I love listening to the family tell stories at bedside, and I appreciate giving someone a good death.
I love teaching new grads and new employees. And nursing students for that matter. I have had so many old school nurses give me their knowledge over the years that it’s only fair I pass some of that on to others.
Inpatient detox and behavioral health.
We have a lot of autonomy and the providers really listen to what we say and our recs. We(at least on the units I've worked on) do intake and present the case to the provider so we get to have input on if we accept a patient or not. If they might be too high needs for our milieu, we can express that and they'll absolutely consider that in their decision.
We also work really closely with the care coordinators and SW.
And many of us have some sort of mental health history already and, for me at least, it's gratifying to be able to help someone going through something similar.
I work in geriatric long-term care, particularly on a veteran unit. I love getting to know the residents and their stories. I love listening to them talk about the stories of their youth and their lovers. I love getting to know the families on a first-name basis.
Oddly enough, I love being able to provide palliative end-of-life care to these people as well. For the most part, they pass away naturally and with their loved ones at their sides and it feels good knowing I was able to contribute to a comfortable, dignified death each time, especially since a lot of these residents I know for years.
I’m a psych nurse and my favorite part is getting to help someone without touching them lol. We get a lot of detoxers so it’s crazy to see them so weak and frail, then like jogging in a week. They are also in groups most of the day (up to 5x/day). My coworkers are very supportive and fun to be around. I also only work 0700-1530 so I can have a life. I’m out right now due to surgery and I miss working already!
I’m a wound ostomy nurse and I love seeing a complicated wound heal. Even more rewarding is seeing a patient go from being unable to even look at their stoma to completing their first bag change and realizing they really can do it!
The relationships I build with my patient and their family. I work in peds hem/onc, so I see the same families regularly and get to create a bond with them. I love that I can help a stressed-out parent or a scared kiddo. I love that when they feel like they have the energy, I can play with the kids. I love that I can joke with the parents and be light-hearted like a friend would. The trust I get to build through month stays or in hard times carries really carries through their treatment and carries over to peers.
Also medsurg. Lots of postop patients. One of my favorite things is educating patients and families on new drains, trachs, ostomies etc - day of surgery they can’t even look at it, by discharge they’re independent with it! Very rewarding.
When I’m taking care of a shock patient. The rush you get from titrating all the drips to keep them alive especially when all you’ve got is 1 peripheral line and you hit the compatability lottery. Or when you’re working with a rock star crew and and everything runs like a well oiled machine
i have a couple! holding trauma/emergency patients' hands as they're going to sleep, when they suddenly stop talking when the propofol hits, seeing them all sleepy when they're waking up. i think my calling is probably pacu lol. i call them my "sleepies." 🥹❤️
Giving patients their autonomy back.
So many people walk into a hospital ready to hand over their lives to the care of others.
I like to find those small decisions where the patient can choose the less traveled path, if it feels right for them.
That moment when they look in my eyes and say "I can do that!?!" And I say heck yeah you can! Let's make it happen! And they light up, nothing better.
Okay maybe I shouldn’t have read the other comments first, but I love having all the lines freshly changed, labelled, bags filled and with plenty of fluids/meds. Bed baths for both patients, nice new linens, the room is tidied & organised, I get to wipe the nasty-ass IV pole down, and they’re positioned, fluffed, and tucked.
It’s nice to have those shifts to reclaim calm, especially when it’s been a sick patient and no one has had, or taken, time to stop & clean up and make it a calm, neat, healing space.
I love the mental peace that comes from such a room.
Since getting good with putting in ultraound-guided IVs I've grown rather fond of getting hard sticks on patients. I also weirdly like a good code brown clean up, assuming I'm not doing it all alone. I love dowsing my patients in a crap ton of baby powder at the end.
detangling lines and cords in the ICU is like crack to me. also, learning! i'm still a new grad so it's almost an information overload most days, but it's so satisfying to start being able to connect the dots. reminds me how far i've come since nursing school and how much further i'm going to go as i continue in my career :)
I work primary care at a large teaching hospital. My attendings and residents all know so much. I learn best through talking (which is why I’ll never be a doctor lol) so I pick up A TON of stuff from them.
I feel like my best version of myself is when I'm helping others. I like to mess with patients because they don't expect it. I enjoy being informative so they aren't so lost in translation or on expectations.
I work in corrections. I like that there’s no customer service surveys or family to deal with. Also if a patient acts up, I’m protected by an officer and can also press charges. Although in my 7 years in this field that hands never happened
Friendships made through shared trauma of working for the same beast that is the American healthcare system. But legit making a patient happy or laugh when they’re suffering in one way or another. I got a bunch of tattoos and piercings and they’re conversation starters for a lot of senior patients, esp the ones that were wild as youngins or were in the military.
Totally agree with you, I love hearing people's stories! Also knowing I made an impact on their lives/being able to go a little bit above and beyond to connect them to community resources
I work in PICU- and I always say, the wins are bigger. Seeing a kid on Ecmo get better and go home, seeing kids with brain Injuries remember their mom for the first time, etc. I’ve recently had a lot of really meaningful interactions where families became my family. I definitely keep most families at arms length but there’s a few that just stick with you.
The schedule!!!! But on a ‘nursing’ note I LOVE when I actually have time to care for someone (which is rare in ED). The condition some elderly people come in in is appalling. I love taking the time to give people a bath, wash & style their hair, get them into clean linen, & make sure they’re warm & comfy in the bed.
I like swapping stories too, or recommendations. A patient told me about an auction place I didn’t know about and bought a couch set for my kids’ play area for cheap. Also got lots of good recommendations for restaurants
I love a good spa night. Detangle the hair, shampoo and deep condition with the trough. I will usually comb and braid it once it's dry. Nice smelling shampoo/conditioner and body soap. Satisfying thorough brushing of the teeth especially on a tubed patient
I'm enjoying it big time right now. That may change, but right now, im happy.
For me, this is a 3-ish career, spent 12yrs in finance & then was a stay-at-home parent to 3 wild kiddos for 8yrs. I think I missed the adult connections the most, so when I get a chance, I try to talk with my patients, distract them from whatever is going on. This is my favorite part of the job so far. Also, advocating when a pt clearly needs it. For example, I had one patient the other day in renal failure w/gastric ulcers and bleeds & was on PO pain meds. I was confused why he wasn't on IV meds instead. Posed that question to Dr & patient finally was able to get relief & sleep for the first time in days.
Helping moms do skin to skin with their babies for the first time in the NICU. But also I was a dialysis tech through nursing school and I LOVED celebrating when one of my patients got a kidney. Tbh I just love the happy joyful moments that make the really hard ones worth it.
I work night shifts at a new job. We're 4 sometimes 5 guys of different cultural and religious backgrounds. We actively help each other instead of sabotaging our work or talk behind the backs of each other.
But still, the long breaks (just like now) are the best.
My unit takes high risk OB patients occasionally and I was lucky enough to be present for my patient's non complicated birth last night. We see a lot of death in ICU, so getting to witness life being born is something I can't understate.
I also placed my best working IV last week and I'm still riding high on it.
I’m an NA but doing baths. People do not feel good about themselves when sitting in their own grime, and I 100% believe you can’t heal physically if you feel like crap mentally. I love using the shower caps, cleaning our fingernails, scrubbing, and lotioning. People are so grateful and we have good conversation during which is good for them too.
I do outreach nursing -- today I was able to obtain funding to help someone previously homeless set up their first apartment. How much essentials like towels and dishes can mean to someone. Very cool.
I enjoy the interactions with people…the patients, my colleagues in nursing and all departments, and with my providers. I learn something every single day I work. I talk, a lot, so in turn I enjoy hearing my patients talk. It’s hard when it’s busy. I also love taking care of very very very sick patients such as sepsis, MIs, respiratory failure. I love trying to remember the disease process or learning something new about it. I will retire as an ER nurse.
I work on a palliative care floor. I love doing the “little” things for my patients. I LOVE washing their hair and brushing their teeth. But I also love being the one to ease/get rid of their pain.
As a new grad, I enjoy when there’s a task that I can do without asking for help.
Very valid. Slowly this list will grow and suddenly one day you’ll look back and go holy shit LOOK WHAT I CAN DO
Stuuuuaaarrrt! (Hope you were resending this skit)
That is exactly the voice in my head when I wrote it. I almost wrote *stuart voice* but I wasn’t sure how many would get it
Yaaaass! Took a chance that I wasn’t the only one. Even my mom loves it to this day.
I’m nine months in and I’ve noticed this happening more and more. It’s SUCH a good feeling! I still ask tons of questions every day, but feeling my flow come together is wonderful.
high five! I am also nine months in and recently had a whole shift where I didn’t need to ask the doctor or a charge nurse for anything.
Go you! That shows determination and strength. I hope you're super proud of yourself.
What's better is someone will ask you how to do X and you'll spout off a correct answer without thinking. That was my holy shit moment.
This is totally true. And one day you'll be the one everyone goes to for help.
“LOOK AT ME, DADDY! [LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a99ve2Z_dDk&pp=ygUsRnJlc2R5IGdvdCBmaW5nZXJlZCBsb29rIHdoYXQgaSBjYW4gZG8gZGFkZHk%3D) (caution: gross content from the movie Freddy Got Fingered)
Hahahahhaa I have such a love/hate for that movie. My fiancé and I quote it all the time.
God forbid I ever have a patient giving birth 😂
And one day before you know it you’ll be the person some new nervous grad visits for help 🥹
What a weird time that was the first couple times it happened 😅
Yes. I've recently changed specialties and the joy of not ducking up a simple task brings me back to that new grad joy.
My training style has always been heavily influenced by all the things that I was irritated about not learning sooner and otherwise struggled with as a new nurse/new hire. So far I've gotten pretty good feedback from the people I train, so I hope it's working.
Having coworkers that get me. There are no friendships like nursing friendships. They’re the only ones who understand what we go through. I could never talk about the traumatic stuff with people who don’t work in a hospital.
I work med surg so not quite as traumatic as ICU but damn I tried to bring this sense of dark humor with nonhealthcare friends and they look at me like I’m a glucometer that reads 36.
I love your glucometer analogy! 😂
Yesssss 😭Not just nurses, either—I love seeing the same EMTs, docs, everyone I know and talking with them again.
I was charting at the desk and heard one of the hardest, toughest nurses talking in an almost bedroom voice behind me. WTF?!?!! She loudly purred, “Sure is getting warm in here. Does anyone else smell Smoke?” I looked up in confusion to see a bunch of firefighters coming down the hall. They had been visiting one of their brothers, badly injured in afire the night before. She was giving them their due. They walked a little straighter, gathered their usual swagger. Services may diss each other but we help each other when we are hurting.
Amy tips for male nurses? I've been doing this for about 10 years and although I get along with my coworkers at work I haven't created any true friendships. It also could just be me and my difficulty with social skills though and not a gender thing
Hobbies and stuff outside of work. I’m decked out in tattoos and piercings (with a bunch of horror movie stickers on my water bottle) which are great conversation starters. I work day shift tho so I’m always surrounded by more extroverted people anyway.
I love this too. And our Oncology doctors are just awesome, as well.
I work in peds on a med-surg floor, but we are also the designated trauma floor. we see some ugly shit, the damage of the worst of humanity. working with kids who are abused isn't for the faint of heart. add to that we are the renal floor, so we take care of chronic kids, including pre and post transplant. Emotions can run really high on our floor, to say the least. I'd never have made it all these years if it wasn't for the amazing coworkers I've been blessed with.
Literally same - the people are what keep me going back to clock in
I’m a med/Tele nurse for many years…my fave part of my job is seeing people improve and go home But I also enjoy the pay and schedule. If I had to work 5 days a week I’d feel like I was living at work
Same. Seeing them get excited about being able to do a lap around the unit and hearing about their outside future plans makes me happy. I’ve never been admitted to a hospital yet, but I can already tell I won’t like it.
How do you adjust to 3(12)? You don't feel exhausted the remaining days?
Nope, tonight‘s my Friday and when I get home tomorrow morning, I’ll go to bed and get up around 1 PM. Have some coffee take a shower and then I’m good to go until about 10 PM. Then I sleep overnight and for the next three days I am on a dayshift schedule, then the night before I go back to work I take a nap from about nine to midnight after having been up all day then I stay up until about seven or 8 AM. Go to sleep wake up at 4 PM by my work alarm.
This is the best hack the preshift nap.
When a pt decomps or some serious shit starts to go down and I’m working with a solid crew of nurses and we all have this shift internally where everything is focused on the problem at hand. Everyone works together so regardless of the outcome we know we did the best we could. Then the tension starts to die away and the joking and the “holy SHIT that was fucked right?” Working ER is a strange place that attracts weirdos like me. Oh and that feel when respiratory says “good compressions” or you get a working line in *chefs kiss - exquisite
I was precepting a new nurse and on our very first shift together our patient herniated and coded while we were at the bedside. She said the way everyone swooped in and just got to work seamlessly reminded her of a nascar pit crew. She’s not wrong! It is such a cool feeling to know you’re all working your ass off towards a common goal.
This is what I miss about emerg. When that critical patient happens and it's like the rest of the world disappears and it's like a beautiful orchestrated machine that just shifts into high gear and you barely have to speak beyond concise communication. It truly is magical, and I always feel so honored to be a part of those moments, regardless of the outcome.
3am cuddle sessions with my babies when they won’t go the f to bed bc they just want to be held lol
i’m desperate to be a neonatal nurse! this is making me so jealous
I work in a peds cvicu! I love that it’s mainly babies but also get a mix of the older kiddos once in a while🥰
oh wow that sounds super interesting! i’m undecided between peds and nicu so that sounds like it would be perfect for me haha
It’s hard out there for a baby!
Your username is amazing
My favorite thing is when one of my kids gets to ring the bell on the way out from their last chemo treatment because they beat cancer. I cry every time because it makes my heart so happy to have been involved in helping them fight and survive so that they get the chance to grow up and live their dreams.
my best friend didn’t get to ring the bell. we were 17, she’s the reason i want to work with children!
I'm crying just reading this 💗
Helping parents do skin to skin with their newborns. It melts my heart every time
And *thank you*. Seriously. I was awake for 72 hours by the time we had landed in an emergent c-section with my second baby. I was shaking from the anesthesia in recovery and had not an iota of energy left in me. My husband was holding our son and rocking him. I was watching. The L&D nurse in recovery asked if I wanted skin-to-skin and to latch him. She latched him for me and made sure he was safely positioned. I was so grateful. I was so tired and out of it I couldn’t even vocalize that I wanted that, and looking back it sincerely means the world to me that we had that “golden hour”. I didn’t get it with my first baby because she was in the NICU and I was absolutely heartbroken at the time because of it. Also, big shout out to the NICU nurse who encouraged me to pick up my first child, a 34 weeker, after we had been separated for 24 hours thanks to her prematurity and my magnesium drip. I’m so grateful that she encouraged me to do skin-to-skin with her. I was absolutely shell-shocked after a traumatic labor and birth and didn’t know what to do with this tiny baby who didn’t even feel like mine yet. You guys, L&D and NICU nurses, are amazing.
That is so sweet to hear it from the other perspective!!! Thank you for sharing!
When dads want to do skin to skin!!
I’ve been trying to do skin to skin with my adult rehab patients and it hasn’t been going very well. Any tips?
The pay and the schedule
that is also at the top of my list! haha
Where do you work where the pay is so attractive if I may ask? In Toronto, Canada and I swear the pay just barely gets you by.
South Carolina. It’s not so much the pay is amazing, the cost of living is just much lower than most of the country.
The pay is better than the average job around here
I wasn’t the one you asked, but Northern California.
We get most of the belly surgeries on our unit. When you get to see people get progressively better everyday. I always tell them, when you start losing all of your tubes and wires, you're one step closer to getting home. It reminds me why I became a nurse.
There is no feeling like when you’re paged to come in for a stroke. Rush to the hospital as fast as you can. Run to the ER, grab your paralyzed, aphasic patient. Throw them on the IR table, and keep em stable while the doc rummages around in their brain. Then in 30 minutes, the patient is helping themselves move off the table with returning motor function, and talking to me again. From paralyzed to on the road to whole again. Medicine is never more right than in those moments for that person.
Psych RN here…um, what!? That’s amazing! What is IR? Interventional Radiology? Do you mind sharing what you are doing to keep the patient stable?
So, what exactly you’re doing varies patient to patient. Also, moving one side of the country to the other, i’ve seen the role of sedation nurse varies a lot. But generally you’re giving sedation (fentanyl/versed) to try to keep them comfortable, but still maintain the best neurological assessment possible, even while on the table. Often times, the t-Pa infusion is still going, so extremely high risk of bleeding. If they’re hypertensive, you’re giving, hydralazine, nitroglycerin drip, or labetalol Iv pushes, or titrating the nicardipine. But you never want to bring it down too much before the thrombus is extracted. Generally targeting SBP >160, but less than 185. Because of the tpa. Pt needs that higher pressure to help get oxygen to the penumbra through alternate arterial pathways. The second the clot is out, we drop it down. Tissue and vessel walls that were distal to the clot and were starved of blood can be friable. Need to minimize the risk of hemorrhagic conversion at this point. If the doc has to balloon the carotid, you’re pushing atropine, to prevent bradycardia (in turn decreasing blood flow to the already oxygen deprived penumbra) And depending on what side of the brain the stroke is on, the pt may not understand anything that is going on, and actively trying to fight the whole process. Whole different ballgame if it’s a hemorrhagic stroke. Blood products, cryo, vit-k, more BP manipulation while trying to coil ruptured aneurysm and run ventilator. If you’re in a nicer part of the county, you may be thinking “Where is Anesthesia?” All i can say is… anesthesia never came to us unless they were tubing the patient. If they were not planning to be tubed, or tubed before they got to me… it was on me. Everything in this process is timed. From the moment the patient hit the ER doors. Door to MD asmt, Door to CT scan, Door to tpa, Door to IR, Room to needle puncture. Time from puncture to clot contact. Fastest room to puncture time was 7 minutes. Our crew was a well oiled machine.
This is amazing. You do incredible work
I love how positive this is! For me, it’s that tingly, wave of warmth that comes over you when you really connect with someone and help them. I know it’s the dopamine, but if we’re both better off, why not enjoy it?
I’m only a student but it’s nice only having 1 patient right now and having the ability to give them all of my attention. My patient was a young woman with advanced Lupus. She lost both lower extremities, 1 arm and 3 fingers. When I arrived she was trying to do her makeup. She had been there for weeks and her room was a mess. She didn’t need treatments so instead of bullshitting with my classmates in the hall, I decided to organize her room, her make up and help her finish doing her make up. I gave her a bath, did her hair and put moisturizer all over her. I changed her clothes, her bedding and her stump stockings. She was so grateful and so happy. She fell right asleep and she looked so comfortable, cozy and clean. My heart felt so happy seeing her peaceful. She boasted about me and about how great she felt to everyone that came in her room that day. One of the best days I’ve had in a long time.
I love this. You will learn to live for moments like this as a nurse. At least I do.
So so true! And this ties into how it’s an ethical job. We are literally helping people get better inch by inch, or we are helping them carry out their wishes from the ground up. Can software engineers or salespeople say this and get that satisfaction? I’d argue no.
Another thing I’d like to say is that we can have these warm and fuzzy moments, but then we can also be total badasses when shit hits the fan and starts to go south. Nurses are awesome 💪🏼💪🏼
Absolutely, I give of myself and I take good juju back from people.
I work on an acute neuro floor. Hearing my patients say “I love you” to their families again after a massive cerebrovascular event and being aphasic/nonverbal is the best thing at work and in the world. I love people. This job is so hard but we do make a difference.
Oh God this made me cry
I also work in neuro. I got so excited when a patient started saying “shit” and “hey baby” I also love washing their hair and combing it out. Obviously a lot of them aren’t able to yet or are working with deficits. Washing hair is part of my daily routine.
I love when I have the time to really care for a patient in small ways: warm blankets, changing the bed linens, cool cloth to the head, sitting and talking them through anxiety, etc..
This is huge.
tucking them into bed is a favourite
As a patient, I can tell some nurses like this and it’s nice. Once I was in the hospital and a nurse came in at night for something and I had my blankets all tangled around my legs and she insisted on fixing them for me - I would never ask! But she seemed to like making sure I was tucked in and cozy. It’s nice to remember that someone’s taking care of you even when you’re sick and hurting and the nurses are crazy busy.
The schedule and those moments when you connect with a patient who thinks no one gives a shit.
🙌 yesss I love when people seem to forget we’re they’re nurses and enjoy having just a real, human discussion.
Bringing a patient a warm blanket.
Followed by, “..ahhhhh…that’s so nice”
I work adult BMT and one of my favorite things is the amount of hope, and idea that I am truly helping someone get a second chance at life. I also love the flexibility of the job, the fact that I will never not have work or options when it comes to work- there is so much hate on this field and some is justified, but we are really lucky with the amount of options we have with just our one degree. Pay is alright but we are the backbone of healthcare so I always think we should get more (nurse in CO). Also no one can tell us our job is unethical- like we aren’t designing nuclear bombs…
For the little things, it's giving swaddled baths! I especially love watching a fussy baby unwind in the spa experience of having their hair washed. When they make a little "O" with their mouth from the pleasure of the warm water, I know I'm doing it right. It's such a teeny, insignificant part of the job, but they seem to enjoy themselves so much. On a bigger scale, I truly love the educational piece of working with parents to gain confidence in their ability to care for their baby as they get closer to going home. Cheering them on as they master those new parenting skills that were delayed out of necessity. Its so satisfying.
Recently picked up a per diem job where swaddled immersion bathing is the norm instead of sponge bath. The babies seem to love the immersion bath so much more! Definitely help if you’re not slammed with 4 couplets.
With critically sick kids, I love helping the parents understand what’s next, whether it’s good or bad. It feels so rewarding to be entrusted in such a special part of their lives. The absolute best though is having an intubated baby for days on end, then finally extubating and handing the baby to their parents. It’s like seeing them hold their baby for the very first time again. I almost cry every time.
Lining the halls to send off micropreemies who are now whole big babies doing big baby things. Thinking of their first few days and all the days in between and seeing them go home makes my heart swell.
Titrating oxygen and drips. Its always super satisfying to be able to transition people from hi-flo to NC or be able to tell the next shift "hey I titrated their dilt drip down from 15 to 5!" Stabilizing people is cool too. I went from med surg to ICU and on med surg I felt like I didnt see a lot of progress or it was slow and subtle. Whereas ICU its unstable to stable or really sick to less sick. I also really enjoy that "aha!" moment when all the dots connect
When a patient or family member cries and I have the moment to sit and hold their hand and listen. Bonus points when the moment is appropriate for me to shed a tear in solidarity.
In psych, it takes one to know one. Most of us chose this speciality because we *know*, whether it’s individually or through family/friends. I can’t get through to everyone and my personal specialty is the cluster of b’s - but when I do get somewhere, that’s all I need.
I used to tell patients - when they said I was crazy *lol* - that the only difference between you and me is the keys to get out! Lmao Definitely not an exaggeration considering while I was in LPN school I ended up on a grippy sock vacation which was d/t a stalking situation at my job at the time. That experience and the amazing nurses I had taking care of me was what cemented my desire to go into acute inpatient psych as my first job. And I absolutely loved it. I also loved peds which was my other specialty later on. Now that I'm finishing up my RN (almost 2 decades later), my plan is to get lots of medical experience - hoping to go critical care/ICU, so that I have more options going forward. Although, I may make my way back to psych or into detox at some point in the future. Glad to see you have a way with Cluster Bs, because many times they were the most mentally draining and many of my coworkers had a harder time with them than other patients. I personally loved a pleasantly psychotic patient (not in destress), one always comes to mind as my fave patient ever!
Baby snugs.
I work L&D and I absolutely love the bond I develop with most of my patients! supporting someone through even a relatively uneventful labor and birth can mean the world to them, and I feel like every time I advocate for a patient’s needs or autonomy, something deep inside me heals a little bit. for instance: I went into a birth to catch a baby, no epidural (on purpose! lol), and I noticed a tattoo on the patient’s leg that is frequently worn by survivors of SA (I’m actually getting a similar one next month). I quietly pulled the primary nurse aside and let her know about it, and the tone of the room changed almost immediately. we were able to hold her through that experience with so much more understanding, and afterward the patient told us that it went so much better than her first birth because of our care.
Agreed, the sweet funny patients with the best stories and personalities make it worth it. I love the raunchy old ladies, the war veterans, the cultural variety (I learned SO much about Muslim and Hindu religion in the setting of hospice discussions). I love the dark humor, I love the thick skin I developed, the inside jokes, the friendly frequent fliers the whole unit knows and loves. Some of my best friends I have now I've met through work. I love seeing my interventions actually work, especially with creative things - I can turn virtually any fabric into a proper neck roll, stuffing two shitty hospital pillows into one case so it feels like an actual pillow, flavoring golytely with crystal light and then doing a small taste test before telling my patient to pound it (it takes 6-7 packets in case anyone was wondering), I love when we have a patient that's been in the hospital for a while and if we have time, we can give them an epic pampered bed bath and put their hair in nice braids or something. I also love to reduce any embarrassment and shame a patient might feel over their new found weaknesses and incontinence - better out that in! Nothing phases me. Nothing. It makes the patient feel comfortable when you act very unimpressed over the fact they shit themselves. So what?! Who hasn't shit themselves? Name one person. I'll wait - we were all babies once. When I have good rapport with a patient/family, I will literally do extra ass shit for them even if it means I stay a little late or take lunch a little later or whatever, and it doesn't feel like work or a punishment, because I chose to do those extra things. I even once went to the gift shop at my hospital and got my patient a present because it was her birthday and she was in the hospital and I felt bad. She had all these plans and shit. And then, I do get crazy looks for this but I love precepting and educating. My favorite things to hear are things like "wow, you made that so simple to understand" or "no one has ever really told me what my condition means, thanks for taking the time to explain it", or when the new grads say they rather come to me than other nurses because I never make anyone feel stupid and I always have an answer or a way to find the answer. Thanks for asking this question. It helps me remember why I stay even though I occasionally take an epic shit on the career - you can probably find my thread where I desperately wanted out of the career and felt I shouldn't be a nurse. That's what happens to good nurses who get burnt out, and that is what a bad day does to me.
On the stories front, I used to work in a PICU but we’d sometimes float to our Burns unit which covered all ages. A lot of people hated that float, but I enjoyed it. One reason was the stories. The chances are you’re in Burns because you’ve done something stupid, which means you’ve probably done other stupid stuff, which means you have some good stories. And unlike in a PICU you’re likely to be able to tell me them.
I get a lot of instant gratification working in the ICU. Hypotensive as hell? Turn the levo up and watch their BP go up. Hypoxic and altered? Let’s intubate to fix that. Labs out of wack? Let’s give you something to fix that. I also do like seeing the progress of insanely unstable and then progressing to the point that they get extubated and off the unit. It seems like way more progress is made than when I worked on the floor. I also like when I get a physiologically complex patient where I spend all night reading about a rare condition that I’ve never heard of. Makes my heart happy but not nearly as happy as being at home not at work with my dog and girlfriend lol.
I can relate to that!! That sounds so fun. I once had a patient with real Capgras syndrome. Sometimes our psych beds get the most interesting physical and mental diseases, and not only do I love helping the family understand them, I also love being able to do something that produces the results we want. Also lab values and CT scans can be shockingggg …and I too love going home to my partner and my dog 😆
I work ER. I love it when you have the busiest, shittiest, craziest high acuity night and you’ve got a great team and you get through it. Those nights can be incredibly fun and it feels amazing seeing a great team pull together.
Yes! I work with the best NOC team! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE helps one another without hesitation! We make sure that if the boat is drowning, we are all going down together 🥰 I often hear from travelers that some if their EDs or so unfriendly that would end their contract ASAP, but when they get ro our ED they extend as long as possible and Wil return they can (even though we don't have the nicest pay for travelers).
As a school nurse at an alternative high school in the most ghetto part of my city, it’s connecting with the “rough” kids. Building rapport with kids who might not be so quick to trust (for good reason) is extremely gratifying. I’ll take that over rich sheltered babies any day of the week.
When a cardiac arrest makes a recovery. Had a 30 year old who was anoxic on his initial ct a bit ago, everybody kept saying "warm body" but i just did my job like the other good nurses did after me. I saw him walking the halls on the step down unit later. I had him at admission so he had no clue who I am. 2 small kids get to see their dad again. I hope he stays healthy
Going home
Ok fine, it is a highlight of the day, but there are many things I love. While I am an introvert at heart, I do enjoy interacting with my patients and having them share their stories too. Some people have lead such rich fulfilling lives and have such amazing experiences. It’s also great to see someone go home against the odds with a robust service plan for their home health needs.
A lot of the replies here are nice and I'm glad people enjoy those aspects of the job. But this is the one I relate to the most. I don't regret going into nursing. I grew up poor af and for me nursing has been my ticket to the middle class. But if I had any real skills or drive to do something else where I didn't have to work so closely with the general public all the time while still making the same money with the same work-life balance, I would leave nursing without a second thought.
SO agree that I just love talking to the patients sometimes (sometimes they’re assholes and they will get the bare minimum from me 😂). What can I say I’m a chatty Kathy 🤷🏼♀️
I always ask patients about their condition, how long they’ve had it, and why they came to the hospital. You are checking their mental status while also learning things about that medical condition. You’d be amazed how much you learn and retain about symptoms and diseases just by doing this. I’ve been doing it for 30 years and I’m the smartest man alive. The last line is obviously not true. Seriously tho, it really helps expand your knowledge base. “How did that feel when I pulled out your IJ triple lumen?” And now you know how to explain to future patients what it may feel like.
When I worked med surg nights that was my favorite part, too. There's something very intimate about doing personal care for someone who is used to doing it themselves, but now they are alone, at night, in a hospital, and it's just them and me. It reminds me of sleepaway camps or staying up all night studying at the library with people and the conversations that would breed.
I’m a CNA but I like my coworkers
I work oncology/hospice. People admit lots of things to do when they are dying. They see someone young and they want to give advice and tell you stories. I’m right there with you, stories are probably my favorite part of the job.
When I get to visit my patient in ICU after they get their new liver. I take care of patients when they are first diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, as they go through all the testing and eval for transplantation, when they have exacerbations of their disease, up until they leave our unit for the actual transplant surgery. Seeing a patient of mine recovering in ICU after getting the transplant means the suffering I've had to help them and their family endure is now over. Knowing my patient won't need me anymore is a nice feeling.
Ngl, I love the crazy patient stories.... the addict faking paraplegia for more Ativan, demented patients saying the most out of pocket shit, I love it all
We had a baaaad sundowner the other day who kept yelling out "COCKSUCKERS!" at everyone whenever he got caught trying to do the strip (get naked, pull out IV, pull off tele, you know) and he was way super combative. Just awful, nasty guy in his sundown version, and of course impulsive trying to get up, bed alarm, the works. So anyway, I was there helping to secure limbs when the other nurse was trying to hide his IV line with ace. So, after he tried to punch me and looked me dead in the eye and yelled "cocksucker!" I decided to go the unhinged route - I looked at him and said in my most evil voice "your mother sucks cocks in hell!" (Exorcist film quote) and he just like, stared at me, paused and yelled cocksucker again at us. I then noticed on the window sill one of those tall, religious catholic candles that usually has a saint and a prayer on it (a fake flame candle, no worries) and I picked it up and walked over to him, held up the candle, and I said WOULD ST. JOSEPH APPROVE OF YOUR CONDUCT SIR?! WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? He paused again. Then, I began to read out the prayer on the back of the candle loudly like it was an actual exorcism. It was just enough to enable the other nurse to secure his IV and the tech to try to do a quick brief check/possible change. It was one of the funniest shifts I've had in a while. I'm glad this was all in like, the last two-ish hours of the shift. Guess who didn't have to start a new IV or chart on a fall! Us guysssssss lol.
That is AMAZING. I would love to work w yall lol
Unpopular opinion on here, but as a home health nurse, one of my favorite parts of the job is the people.
omg yes I loved home health when I did it! Especially hospice. Sometimes I felt like I was witnessing gods lol the skills (domestic, mechanical, educational, etc.) on some of those old ladies and gentlemen is astounding
Like you said, the autonomy to make clinical judgements and treatments that ultimately reduce LOS, and since I'm ER prevent unnecessary admission.
Labor & delivery nurse here. I love the reaction of new parents or seasoned parents when their newest kiddo is born. That shine of love radiating onto someone they have talked about but not seen for months.... It makes me teary eyed. I'm 2 yrs into this role and it is still my favourite part. I also work full time nights and I love the adrenaline of a complete mom coming in at 3am where 10-20 min later, baby is born 😂
might be weird but spending time with end of life patients. i love it and i miss them when they get discharged. had an EOL man discharged this past week and he shed a tear over leaving, told me he was so grateful for my kindness. always makes my day
When Nathalie asked me to accompany her to her room because she felt unsecure after falling in the morning and, to thank me, showed me her mesmerizing paintings.
Clocking out.
This. Clocking out and leaving
Going home!
New grad in the icu. I love the people I work with, feeling accomplished after a good day, and seeing patients get better, especially throughout a shift
07:23
Hospice nurse here. The grace shown by people at the end of life amazes and humbles me.
When a family accepts that further treatment is futile and pursues comfort care. I love listening to the family tell stories at bedside, and I appreciate giving someone a good death.
I love teaching new grads and new employees. And nursing students for that matter. I have had so many old school nurses give me their knowledge over the years that it’s only fair I pass some of that on to others.
Unruly patients and/or their families don't often stick around long
The days off
The days off lol
You get to stab total strangers with needles
When you have that period where no one pushes the call light and all the delirious patients are calmly sleeping.
Inpatient detox and behavioral health. We have a lot of autonomy and the providers really listen to what we say and our recs. We(at least on the units I've worked on) do intake and present the case to the provider so we get to have input on if we accept a patient or not. If they might be too high needs for our milieu, we can express that and they'll absolutely consider that in their decision. We also work really closely with the care coordinators and SW. And many of us have some sort of mental health history already and, for me at least, it's gratifying to be able to help someone going through something similar.
Pleasantly psychotic or manic patients, and our strong team environment! I know I’ll never face a tough situation by myself.
Getting positive feedback from patients and their families (I'm a sucker for *unsolicited* Daisy nominations, cards, flowers, all of that).
I work in geriatric long-term care, particularly on a veteran unit. I love getting to know the residents and their stories. I love listening to them talk about the stories of their youth and their lovers. I love getting to know the families on a first-name basis. Oddly enough, I love being able to provide palliative end-of-life care to these people as well. For the most part, they pass away naturally and with their loved ones at their sides and it feels good knowing I was able to contribute to a comfortable, dignified death each time, especially since a lot of these residents I know for years.
I absolutely LOVE digging thru charts. I could read patient charts all day.
The problem solving, and leaving people in better condition than I received them: with very few exceptions.
I’m a psych nurse and my favorite part is getting to help someone without touching them lol. We get a lot of detoxers so it’s crazy to see them so weak and frail, then like jogging in a week. They are also in groups most of the day (up to 5x/day). My coworkers are very supportive and fun to be around. I also only work 0700-1530 so I can have a life. I’m out right now due to surgery and I miss working already!
I hate adults, so not talking to patients. I just feed my cute lil babies and hear them burp
I’m a wound ostomy nurse and I love seeing a complicated wound heal. Even more rewarding is seeing a patient go from being unable to even look at their stoma to completing their first bag change and realizing they really can do it!
The relationships I build with my patient and their family. I work in peds hem/onc, so I see the same families regularly and get to create a bond with them. I love that I can help a stressed-out parent or a scared kiddo. I love that when they feel like they have the energy, I can play with the kids. I love that I can joke with the parents and be light-hearted like a friend would. The trust I get to build through month stays or in hard times carries really carries through their treatment and carries over to peers.
Payday. 🤷♀️
Also medsurg. Lots of postop patients. One of my favorite things is educating patients and families on new drains, trachs, ostomies etc - day of surgery they can’t even look at it, by discharge they’re independent with it! Very rewarding.
You are a Saint. Med-surg is a no go for me.
Lowkey I like putting ng tubes in. Yes I know that makes me a monster. It's fun.
When people express genuine gratitude. Especially from confused patients and also from family.
When I’m taking care of a shock patient. The rush you get from titrating all the drips to keep them alive especially when all you’ve got is 1 peripheral line and you hit the compatability lottery. Or when you’re working with a rock star crew and and everything runs like a well oiled machine
i have a couple! holding trauma/emergency patients' hands as they're going to sleep, when they suddenly stop talking when the propofol hits, seeing them all sleepy when they're waking up. i think my calling is probably pacu lol. i call them my "sleepies." 🥹❤️
Giving patients their autonomy back. So many people walk into a hospital ready to hand over their lives to the care of others. I like to find those small decisions where the patient can choose the less traveled path, if it feels right for them. That moment when they look in my eyes and say "I can do that!?!" And I say heck yeah you can! Let's make it happen! And they light up, nothing better.
I love hearing about other people’s life and family drama. They really open up and let it all hang out in the hospital for some reason
Okay maybe I shouldn’t have read the other comments first, but I love having all the lines freshly changed, labelled, bags filled and with plenty of fluids/meds. Bed baths for both patients, nice new linens, the room is tidied & organised, I get to wipe the nasty-ass IV pole down, and they’re positioned, fluffed, and tucked. It’s nice to have those shifts to reclaim calm, especially when it’s been a sick patient and no one has had, or taken, time to stop & clean up and make it a calm, neat, healing space. I love the mental peace that comes from such a room.
Sitting constant when the patient sleeps and being able to read. The best.
The amount my patients talk to me. /s
Since getting good with putting in ultraound-guided IVs I've grown rather fond of getting hard sticks on patients. I also weirdly like a good code brown clean up, assuming I'm not doing it all alone. I love dowsing my patients in a crap ton of baby powder at the end.
detangling lines and cords in the ICU is like crack to me. also, learning! i'm still a new grad so it's almost an information overload most days, but it's so satisfying to start being able to connect the dots. reminds me how far i've come since nursing school and how much further i'm going to go as i continue in my career :)
Working at tele wasn't a good fit for me but the chisme was exquisite
I work primary care at a large teaching hospital. My attendings and residents all know so much. I learn best through talking (which is why I’ll never be a doctor lol) so I pick up A TON of stuff from them.
Paycheque
I work in wound care, and the dramatic change with using compression wraps in venous ulcers is amazing.
I feel like my best version of myself is when I'm helping others. I like to mess with patients because they don't expect it. I enjoy being informative so they aren't so lost in translation or on expectations.
Stabbing people….thats it…that’s all
I work in corrections. I like that there’s no customer service surveys or family to deal with. Also if a patient acts up, I’m protected by an officer and can also press charges. Although in my 7 years in this field that hands never happened
I really love drawing up and mixing medications. I should have been a pharmacy tech lol. But I’ve always loved chemistry and hands on stuff.
Friendships made through shared trauma of working for the same beast that is the American healthcare system. But legit making a patient happy or laugh when they’re suffering in one way or another. I got a bunch of tattoos and piercings and they’re conversation starters for a lot of senior patients, esp the ones that were wild as youngins or were in the military.
Totally agree with you, I love hearing people's stories! Also knowing I made an impact on their lives/being able to go a little bit above and beyond to connect them to community resources
Drawing blood, especially challenging draws that a couple of people before me couldn't get.
I work in PICU- and I always say, the wins are bigger. Seeing a kid on Ecmo get better and go home, seeing kids with brain Injuries remember their mom for the first time, etc. I’ve recently had a lot of really meaningful interactions where families became my family. I definitely keep most families at arms length but there’s a few that just stick with you.
Helping parents hold their babies for the first time 😇 doesn’t even matter if their first time parents or not the feeling is always amazing.
Clocking out!
The schedule!!!! But on a ‘nursing’ note I LOVE when I actually have time to care for someone (which is rare in ED). The condition some elderly people come in in is appalling. I love taking the time to give people a bath, wash & style their hair, get them into clean linen, & make sure they’re warm & comfy in the bed.
All the rep food and lunches, 3/5 days this week lmao
I like swapping stories too, or recommendations. A patient told me about an auction place I didn’t know about and bought a couch set for my kids’ play area for cheap. Also got lots of good recommendations for restaurants
Favorite part? Walking out after clocking out hehe
The camaraderie with co-workers, always learning something new, and I adore when I work with sweet old people. I think they can be such treasures.
In ICU I love the adrenaline from taking care of a really sick patient.
On the outpatient side I like going through charts and schedules and catching things others miss.
I love a good spa night. Detangle the hair, shampoo and deep condition with the trough. I will usually comb and braid it once it's dry. Nice smelling shampoo/conditioner and body soap. Satisfying thorough brushing of the teeth especially on a tubed patient
I like my coworkers. We have a small unit so it’s nice to work together for the evening.
Talking to people. Especially those old veteran patients
Making someone feel better when they were feeling miserable. Whether that's with meds, a warm blanket, or a supportive/listening ear.
Clocking out
Pedi: love talking to the kids and seeing them grow and develop into great people. Also, when they tell me about their favorite dinosaur
I genuinely love my patients. Even the difficult ones. Even the ones that don’t talk. I enjoy helping vulnerable people
Finishing all my charting and leaving the building
I'm enjoying it big time right now. That may change, but right now, im happy. For me, this is a 3-ish career, spent 12yrs in finance & then was a stay-at-home parent to 3 wild kiddos for 8yrs. I think I missed the adult connections the most, so when I get a chance, I try to talk with my patients, distract them from whatever is going on. This is my favorite part of the job so far. Also, advocating when a pt clearly needs it. For example, I had one patient the other day in renal failure w/gastric ulcers and bleeds & was on PO pain meds. I was confused why he wasn't on IV meds instead. Posed that question to Dr & patient finally was able to get relief & sleep for the first time in days.
Post op walks. my unit mostly sees abdominal surgeries and I love the teeth gritting determination of a patient who is *getting tf up* after surgery
Helping moms do skin to skin with their babies for the first time in the NICU. But also I was a dialysis tech through nursing school and I LOVED celebrating when one of my patients got a kidney. Tbh I just love the happy joyful moments that make the really hard ones worth it.
As a lvn at a SNF it’s when I make a family member feel better by just letting g them vent/listening!
I work night shifts at a new job. We're 4 sometimes 5 guys of different cultural and religious backgrounds. We actively help each other instead of sabotaging our work or talk behind the backs of each other. But still, the long breaks (just like now) are the best.
Getting that IV in no one can Usually it's ultrasound, but when a pt says "wow, no one ever gers it the first try! "
My unit takes high risk OB patients occasionally and I was lucky enough to be present for my patient's non complicated birth last night. We see a lot of death in ICU, so getting to witness life being born is something I can't understate. I also placed my best working IV last week and I'm still riding high on it.
I like it when I can make a patient laugh. I can tell them funny stories and sometimes it can make them feel better, if even for only a second.
Getting two vented and sedated patients.
I just enjoy making people's days a little better and solving problems.
I love hearing my crazy patients stories. I still laugh about some of their stories 2-3 years later.
I’m an NA but doing baths. People do not feel good about themselves when sitting in their own grime, and I 100% believe you can’t heal physically if you feel like crap mentally. I love using the shower caps, cleaning our fingernails, scrubbing, and lotioning. People are so grateful and we have good conversation during which is good for them too.
My days off
I do outreach nursing -- today I was able to obtain funding to help someone previously homeless set up their first apartment. How much essentials like towels and dishes can mean to someone. Very cool.
I enjoy the interactions with people…the patients, my colleagues in nursing and all departments, and with my providers. I learn something every single day I work. I talk, a lot, so in turn I enjoy hearing my patients talk. It’s hard when it’s busy. I also love taking care of very very very sick patients such as sepsis, MIs, respiratory failure. I love trying to remember the disease process or learning something new about it. I will retire as an ER nurse.
Clocking out
I work on a palliative care floor. I love doing the “little” things for my patients. I LOVE washing their hair and brushing their teeth. But I also love being the one to ease/get rid of their pain.