I can't tell you how many times when I have said that I am studying nursing, or that I want to be a nurse people have commented "Why would you want to do that?" The worst offenders tend to be nurses!! who usually add to the end something like "I wouldn't if I were you", or "You'll hate it", or "I don't know why you would choose Nursing!".
So it got me to thinking I would love to collect some stories about positive Nursing experiences on the job or on prac. That way when someone makes a negative comment or I am feeling sorry for myself I can read my blog for inspiration...(and other people aswell). Well it sounds like a good idea in theory, now all it needs is some good stories.....Ok first I will share mine, then you can share yours??!!!
Firstly I haven't had heaps of experience, I am just a newbie, but I have had some great nursing experiences. This one was on my last placement which was 2 weeks at an Acute Mental Health unit.
A few days after I started working on the ward R was admitted. R verbalised strong suicidal ideation and was assessed as having situationally induced severe depression. R's expressions were blunted and he withdrew from interactions with other patients and staff.
I was privileged that R allowed me to work with my buddy nurse (excellent mental health nurse with 20 years experience) and get to know him. Over the next few days I got to know R's story and received insight into the circumstances which led R to the Mental Health facility and his current mental status. My buddy nurse and R's examined his experiences, choices and circumstances. We learnt that R had broken most of his family ties and someone close to R died hours after his admission.
Gradually we began to see a change in R. He started to accept his mistakes, having examined the choices he made and was able to initiate plans for the future. R's affect began changing and he responded appropriately to staff interactions. My buddy nurse encouraged R to seek support in his family network which thankfully was readily forthcoming.
As the days went on R began to initiate positive interactions with staff. R had made some remarkable progress and he was discharged. I have to be honest and say that my eyes welled up for just a minute seeing such a positive outcome and seeing R have such hope for the future. I felt like I had participated in something special, that the care R received had really made a difference in his life, and to top it off I had well and truly overcome my anxiety of my Mental Health placement. I have to say this placement was definantly one of the best for me.
Ok...over to you............
'Birthdays are good for your health - statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest'.
3 comments:
Yours is a good story.
Here's mine:
It was the second recurrance of my husband's Cancer and we were at his final Pre-op appointment to remove it from his salivary gland. The doctor had just finished telling us that he was to have a portion of his jawbone removed along with all of his teeth. When the MD left, we both just lost it, both of us crying and very scared. The nurse stayed with us, just sitting with us for awhile and gently spoke, asking us if we had any questions. She told us about the prosthetics available and that dentures & plastic surgery were an option in the future. Once we pulled ourselves together, she asked if we were religious. We said yes. "She asked if we would like to pray with her" Although I was not as spiritual as he, We agreed. She led the prayer and it was comforting to us both, and more so to him.
Prayer or not, it was still really comforting that she cared enough to stay with us and support us.
That's a great story, Jodi. During my late husband's cancer, we had 3 nurses who saved him from getting the wrong blood transfusions and helped him when he went into convulsions from mismatched antibodies in one transfusion. (It was difficult to match antibodies when one had been taking chemo for several months.)
I remembered being a bit taken aback by our hospice nurse who came to the door on a visit after my husband had died. She actually broke into tears; I remembered being surprised that a nurse who would have certainly been expecting his death would be so touched and so emotional. Most medical professionals we dealt with were not.
Nice idea for the blog. I'm looking forward to reading more.
I had a patient who had an angioplasty and had no family to visit him in the hospital. My friend and I talked to him and joked with him while we were pulling his arterial sheaths. We laughed at his jokes and joked back with him. The next week we got flowers and a card telling us how grateful he had been for our willingness to laugh with him.
I remember I had been having a bad day and was in a horrible mood up to that point. I was so happy I had put my bad mood aside and interacted with that patient. You never know how much good you may be doing a patient.
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