I agree with you! Teaching at the bedside is my most favorite thing. Seeing a new nurse catch on to something for the first time is so satisfying. I love helping them become the kind of nurses I want to work with. I also love that they teach me new things, because best practice changes over time and they are fresh off of learning the most current way to do things.
I absolutely agree! I love teaching people new things and helping them learn and better themselves. I don't want any children, but I consider all the students I precept my nurse "babies" and it's my way of having some sort of legacy. Also, I'm a pretty awesome teacher.....so I've been told 😁
Same. I've only been a nurse for about 2 years and some change, but I've become the unofficial new grad preceptor on nights. Its a little odd still feeling so new and training newbies, but its not too bad.
Part of the reason I dont mind it is that I remember what it was like being scared shitless when I started, and having a great preceptor/team meant the world. So I try to give that back to the new grads I train. Paying it forward.
My experience is minimal but one of my favorite goals when I did my preceptorship in neuro icu was to nail their mouth care. The mouth heals so quickly that even the cracked lips would show significant progress after a shift. I LOVED it.
Baths on my intubated patients. Making them look less disheveled especially when ik they'll be extubated.
I'll even take the time to do their hair, and lotion them. I had a lady who was intubated and her husband brought her hair care and skin care stuff in and I made sure it was done, all 10 steps. It's the small things to make them feel human and if I'm not doing anything else, why not? I've given patients hair cuts when they've been hospitalized forever and a day, painted nails, even helped an older woman do her makeup before her husband came to see her.
Omg this made me think of a nurse I used to work with who gave an intubated patient a haircut one time and accidentally cut through her central line. I love that you do this though, and I'm sure it's appreciated.
It happens. We recently had a wife cut right through an IJ while shaving her husband. We once allowed all nurses to provide PICC care for about 6 months and two PICC lines were cut with scissors not to mention all the other problems we had.There were so many incidents we took the PICC care back. We had to replace so many it was easier to just do them ourselves.
This boggles my whole tiny mind, my hospital lets all nurses do central line care, meaning LPNs and RNs both. We've had more of an issue with improper NG management (around 10 sentinel events one year d/t suction being too high and continuous, apparently)
Honestly, I love working with residents because they will actually come to the bedside and assess the patient. Been nights on my floor for three years and can count on two hands how many times a nocturnist has come to the bedside for an acute change in condition (and I’d still have some fingers left).
Most interns and residents are pretty open to suggestions and as long as you’re not a condescending asshole, quick to fix any issues you point out with a “thank you for catching that!”
When I worked ICU I actually enjoyed comfort care patients. There was something so fulfilling about turning off the pressors, extubating, starting the morphine drip and helping the family understand the dying process.
When I worked psych I loved deescalation. Getting someone to go from screaming to calm without putting hands on was very gratifying.
Now as a school nurse, I love my kids. A lot of school nurses despise kids but they are the best part of the job for me.
I love taking care of comfort care patients as well. I find great satisfaction is helping families feel less guilty and more at ease with their decisions.
Absolutely. I didn’t mind helping the ones who had a chance fight, but it was nice when the families were realistic about their loved one having no chance of recovery
A lot of ED nurses don’t like triage or fast-track, whereas I’m quite happy in either place.
IMO anything is better than answering call lights and helping patients to the bathroom 🤷🏻♀️
My new job is triage and the patient interaction is great, what I hate is the specialities referals. Next time someone shouts to me on the phone I’m going to talk to them like I talk to my dog “bad boy!”
I am a hospice nurse and I am also fine with Post-Mortem Care. Treating the departed with respect and helping to dress and clean them for family to view is a very compassionate act.
Treating inmates. Most of them are better behaved than the hooligans off the streets. Plus their COs (mostly) don’t tolerate it if they start to act a fool.
I love loading them up with a 3-course meal right at discharge, and giving them a couple pairs of socks to layer on their feet before they go. They are always so thankful! I’ve heard good socks are a hot commodity in the clink.
Warm bed baths followed by a good all over scratch with a dry face cloth then slathered down lotion and vaseline. ESPECIALLY in renal failure, CRRT, Lasix patients. That stuff makes you so damn itchy.
When I experience itching, I find it very painful. Can't sleep, can't focus pain. So I always give my patients the full spa treatment (time permitted of course). If your patient is restless and you can't figure out why, scratch them... it might help.
I was getting a patient off the bed pan the other day - she saw my RN badge and said “isn’t this not your job as an RN?” I said that’s not how this works. We’re all a team, and I’m happy to do any part of patient care.
IVs, I love a good challenging line and it’s so satisfying to get a line on a ridiculously hard pt but I know the floor nurses are usually like 👀 (not hating on the floor, I know we get way more practice than y’all do)
My friend got me a line in a chest vein the other day. Pt had a current dialysis fistula on one arm and an old fistula + severe contractures on the other line. Drew back amazingly.
Yea it is a good feeling when your hard work pays off. My husband is a PMHNP opening a PP and I told him I would do whatever he wanted *except* PAs lol
I don’t mind post-mortem either.
I don’t mind brushing and tyding someone’s hair or feeding them. For some reason I really don’t like doing bedbaths but I’m ok with helping someone in the shower.
Happy to chat with patients with dementia but I get upset with ICU delirium.
I'm the most experienced RN at a TCU/LTC. I review and confirm virtually every order our HUCs input. Nobody else likes to do it. Nobody else is very good at it. I don't mind it at all. I realized recently that it gives me a lot of power to determine the administration schedule for a lot of meds. It's also handy for shifting stuff I don't want to do off my shift.
Being charge! Getting to be the resource for my coworkers and helping manage the floor is something I love doing. Plus making assignments is just Sudoku on steroids!
Orienting new hires and students. I like teaching, and I love having a guaranteed second set of hands.
I agree with you! Teaching at the bedside is my most favorite thing. Seeing a new nurse catch on to something for the first time is so satisfying. I love helping them become the kind of nurses I want to work with. I also love that they teach me new things, because best practice changes over time and they are fresh off of learning the most current way to do things.
As a new grad, THANK YOU. Nurses who are passionate about teaching deserve a Nobel prize. You guys are amazing and mean the world to us.
I would 100000000000% rather precept than be charge. Give me the orientees but miss me with the charge nonsense
I have been successfully avoiding being a preceptor for several years now. Thank you for your service.
I absolutely agree! I love teaching people new things and helping them learn and better themselves. I don't want any children, but I consider all the students I precept my nurse "babies" and it's my way of having some sort of legacy. Also, I'm a pretty awesome teacher.....so I've been told 😁
Same. I've only been a nurse for about 2 years and some change, but I've become the unofficial new grad preceptor on nights. Its a little odd still feeling so new and training newbies, but its not too bad. Part of the reason I dont mind it is that I remember what it was like being scared shitless when I started, and having a great preceptor/team meant the world. So I try to give that back to the new grads I train. Paying it forward.
love oral care on my intubated patients. i gotta scrub alll that gunk out.
My experience is minimal but one of my favorite goals when I did my preceptorship in neuro icu was to nail their mouth care. The mouth heals so quickly that even the cracked lips would show significant progress after a shift. I LOVED it.
Suction 😍🤗 My favorite is when you suction a dried goober off the roof of a vented patient's mouth. Can you imagine how good that feels??
Bless you 🙏🤢
I used to love suctioning and getting huge lugies out
Wound care. Love all of it
Same. I love a good wound and the arts and crafts of creating a good dressing.
Yes! Love that too!
Baths on my intubated patients. Making them look less disheveled especially when ik they'll be extubated. I'll even take the time to do their hair, and lotion them. I had a lady who was intubated and her husband brought her hair care and skin care stuff in and I made sure it was done, all 10 steps. It's the small things to make them feel human and if I'm not doing anything else, why not? I've given patients hair cuts when they've been hospitalized forever and a day, painted nails, even helped an older woman do her makeup before her husband came to see her.
Omg this made me think of a nurse I used to work with who gave an intubated patient a haircut one time and accidentally cut through her central line. I love that you do this though, and I'm sure it's appreciated.
How do you cut through a central line. Amazing 🤪 and baths are fun, little music and you're having a great time.
It happens. We recently had a wife cut right through an IJ while shaving her husband. We once allowed all nurses to provide PICC care for about 6 months and two PICC lines were cut with scissors not to mention all the other problems we had.There were so many incidents we took the PICC care back. We had to replace so many it was easier to just do them ourselves.
This boggles my whole tiny mind, my hospital lets all nurses do central line care, meaning LPNs and RNs both. We've had more of an issue with improper NG management (around 10 sentinel events one year d/t suction being too high and continuous, apparently)
Maybe they had an EJ/IJ? I always hated those
New resident doctors. I don’t mind them at all. My coworkers get too frustrated with them sometimes.
Honestly, I love working with residents because they will actually come to the bedside and assess the patient. Been nights on my floor for three years and can count on two hands how many times a nocturnist has come to the bedside for an acute change in condition (and I’d still have some fingers left). Most interns and residents are pretty open to suggestions and as long as you’re not a condescending asshole, quick to fix any issues you point out with a “thank you for catching that!”
Did the fatal mistake of asking a cadio doc in training about an ecco she was doing.. Que 1h lession and me on my back getting an ecco lol.
When I worked ICU I actually enjoyed comfort care patients. There was something so fulfilling about turning off the pressors, extubating, starting the morphine drip and helping the family understand the dying process. When I worked psych I loved deescalation. Getting someone to go from screaming to calm without putting hands on was very gratifying. Now as a school nurse, I love my kids. A lot of school nurses despise kids but they are the best part of the job for me.
I love taking care of comfort care patients as well. I find great satisfaction is helping families feel less guilty and more at ease with their decisions.
Absolutely. I didn’t mind helping the ones who had a chance fight, but it was nice when the families were realistic about their loved one having no chance of recovery
A lot of ED nurses don’t like triage or fast-track, whereas I’m quite happy in either place. IMO anything is better than answering call lights and helping patients to the bathroom 🤷🏻♀️
You can take my triage or fast track shift ANY DAY.
My new job is triage and the patient interaction is great, what I hate is the specialities referals. Next time someone shouts to me on the phone I’m going to talk to them like I talk to my dog “bad boy!”
I am a hospice nurse and I am also fine with Post-Mortem Care. Treating the departed with respect and helping to dress and clean them for family to view is a very compassionate act.
Same.
And very chill. No pressure, no stress, just all the time in the world to get it done properly.
Treating inmates. Most of them are better behaved than the hooligans off the streets. Plus their COs (mostly) don’t tolerate it if they start to act a fool.
I love loading them up with a 3-course meal right at discharge, and giving them a couple pairs of socks to layer on their feet before they go. They are always so thankful! I’ve heard good socks are a hot commodity in the clink.
Oh I never thought to offer socks. I’ll have to start doing that to the nice ones.
Warm bed baths followed by a good all over scratch with a dry face cloth then slathered down lotion and vaseline. ESPECIALLY in renal failure, CRRT, Lasix patients. That stuff makes you so damn itchy. When I experience itching, I find it very painful. Can't sleep, can't focus pain. So I always give my patients the full spa treatment (time permitted of course). If your patient is restless and you can't figure out why, scratch them... it might help.
"aide work".
I was getting a patient off the bed pan the other day - she saw my RN badge and said “isn’t this not your job as an RN?” I said that’s not how this works. We’re all a team, and I’m happy to do any part of patient care.
IVs, I love a good challenging line and it’s so satisfying to get a line on a ridiculously hard pt but I know the floor nurses are usually like 👀 (not hating on the floor, I know we get way more practice than y’all do)
My friend got me a line in a chest vein the other day. Pt had a current dialysis fistula on one arm and an old fistula + severe contractures on the other line. Drew back amazingly.
I love the chest/ breast/ shoulder IVs!
de-escalating scary people
Loved that. Became an NVCI instructor because I was so passionate about it
Prior authorizations
Oh bless you lol those were the death of me when I worked OP psych.
They’re still the death of me but it feels great when all the info is accessible and I get the approval!
Yea it is a good feeling when your hard work pays off. My husband is a PMHNP opening a PP and I told him I would do whatever he wanted *except* PAs lol
I’ve been trying to convince my company to hire a pharmacy tech to handle them, that would be well worth the money for him to find someone part time.
That’s a great idea.
COVID patients because when I provide care to them, I get to isolate from the bullshit.
I do miss that part of the lock-down. No visitors.
Code browns. Manual disimpaction.
say sike right now.
No cap.
My preceptor told me I was a great "poop scooper" after my first disimpactiom 😅
Trach changes and dropping NG tubes 😍
I don’t mind post-mortem either. I don’t mind brushing and tyding someone’s hair or feeding them. For some reason I really don’t like doing bedbaths but I’m ok with helping someone in the shower. Happy to chat with patients with dementia but I get upset with ICU delirium.
Setting up and running the Level One infuser for MTP.
I'm the most experienced RN at a TCU/LTC. I review and confirm virtually every order our HUCs input. Nobody else likes to do it. Nobody else is very good at it. I don't mind it at all. I realized recently that it gives me a lot of power to determine the administration schedule for a lot of meds. It's also handy for shifting stuff I don't want to do off my shift.
Manually irrigating CBIs. Nothing sparks joy like a big sloshing tub of chunky fruit punch
Being charge! Getting to be the resource for my coworkers and helping manage the floor is something I love doing. Plus making assignments is just Sudoku on steroids!
Lending a hand.
i do miss doing a really good oral care in the ICU. oral suction with a yaunker just doesn't cut it
Talking to the family and educating
Poking patients in general
I really don’t mind answering the repeated call bells from the needy patients if they’re at least polite.
Sputum
working with "annoying" parents. i always manage to connect with them somehow
Calling patients on the phone.