Poll-Name five.....

[All41]

Name five things which bring you the most joy in Nursing.
Name five things which you would like to see changed to improve your Nursing experience. Name more if you have more thoughts!

[Aaron C.]

Making patients laugh or smile.

Anything that takes their mind off their condition.

Having the answer to their questions.

Helping them get better and seeing them progress.

I like to be able to think that their stay was made a little bit better because "I" was there. That maybe I did something that someone else would not have taken the time to do/say.

Right now, since I'm still a student, I can't do all the things nurses can do, but I CAN make them feel better, or happier, or smile, etc. That's what it is for me.

Very good topic by the way.

[All41]

Very good answers. I felt good reading your responses!

[unionnurse]

I like helping patients understand what is going on with them.
Doing the little extras (sneaking in a cat was one) that really make a difference for either their recovery or to make peace before their deaths.
Watching new nurses gain knowledge and expertise, and helping them along the way to get to that knowledge and expertise.
Being an advocate for those that can't advocate for themselves.
Having a patient say Thanks or you really helped me thru this.
What I don't like:
Executives who base decisions on the budget rather than what is safe and will produce quality care.
Doctors who think they are gods and treat the rest of the world accordingly.
Medical/Surgical residents who discount our years of experience and count on their book knowledge to pull them thru a rough clinical problem.
Managers and suits that lie to make themsleves look good or to cover up their flaws (hey, we all ahve them! why lie??)
Unsafe staffing
Lack of retention iniatives for experienced staff.
Having accrued vacation time but not being able to use it.
Obnoxious visitors who really shouldn't be there anyway. Immediate family yes, but mere acquantances have no business showing up in hospital rooms.
Abusive people-docs, patients etc.
what would I do to change the bad stuff?
Have strict MAXIMUM ratios based on the number of available beds (ICU 1:2, Tele 1:4, Med Surg 1:6) and THEN base it to a lower ratio when acuity is higher.
All abusive physicians will be automatically reprimanded for rude and obnoxious behavior.
Go back to a pass system for visitors to get past the main lobby. This way 20 people cannot all crowd into an ICU room and come out 1 by 1 to ask the same questions which we cannot answer due to patient confidentiality!!
Require all suits to work as a clinician at the bedside at least one week every quarter during a time of high acuity and low staffing.

[gilda]

1. Healing a wound
2. Hearing about "yester-year"
3. Having a resident who refuses to eat, suddenly eat a big
meal.
4. Having a resident's family member tell you that you're the
greatest.
5. Having a good job with great benefits!

[Baby_Nurse_To_Be]

Name five things which bring you the most joy in Nursing.
1. making someone better
2. seeing them smile
3. knowing that i'm making a difference in peoples lives
4. babies!!!! i love babies. they give me the MOST joy!!
5. I love working with people and hearing all there old stories.

Name five things which you would like to see changed to improve your Nursing experience. Name more if you have more thoughts!

1. better teachers in the college program
2. more organized program
3. some of the nurses at my placement were mean to us students. so maybe better selection.
4. more clinical time overall
5. longer unit placements

[Kryss88]

Love about nursing:
1. Patient and family thank you for being there with them
2. seeing families smile
3. Getting an IV on the first stick, and the patient say "that didnt really hurt"
4. Meeting someone outside of the hospital, and they introduce you to their friends as their nurse. (and even remembering your name)
5. Delivering a baby without any complications.

Needs changed in nursing:
1. Physicians fight with administration, and the nurses catch all the backlash.
2. Staffing for the what ifs, instead of what happened 2 years ago.
3. Better support for the staff from administration.
4. Set standards of staffing enforced.
5. Less people worrying about law suits, and worry about caring for the patients.

[Terry]

Love about nursing:
1.

[TracyR]

1.The rare opportunity that we men get to exercise care and compassion in our chosen profession. Becoming a nurse has made me a better man and a better father.

2.Being there to share in the recovery of someones loved one. ( Recoveries are often long in coming in the ICU, so you get to know a lot about the families. )

3.Being there to share in the death of someones loved one, and to help them through their grieving.( If you have never held the hand of a total stranger as they take their last breath, it is an incredibly intense and emotional moment. We face it all too often in the ICU, it's just the nature of the unit.)

4.Independence.

5.When you are lucky enough to have found a good team to work with, as I have in the ICU, it is a remarkable experience.

[mercynurse]

Most satisfaction: bringing comfort to those in need; helping someone through the death of a family member; learning from the elderly patients I care for; knowing my actions and presence has made a difference in someone's life; continuing to learn on the job.

To change: patient/staff ratios; insurance companies who dictate care that can be given; enough time to do adequate pateint education; nurses who do not keep up with new technology and medical breakthroughs; experienced nurses who, instead of nurturing the new grads....try to "eat their young" and spend their energy sabotaging them instead