OT: Now more than ever - Shout out to all nurses and doctors

[Gsinill]

Having sat at least 5h every day at the side of a close relative in the ICU for the last week, I came to appreciate nurses even more than I already did.
Talk about a meaningful profession and contribution to society.
Again, nothing I didn't already know but watching what they passionately do day in and day out just adds a totally new level of perspective.
What a humbling experience.
I know they are not (can't be) in it for the money, but whatever they make is not even close to what they deserve IMHO.
If you are one of them, thank you!

[clyde the point]

I am very happy to hear of your positive experience. That is awesome! Sometimes it seems like RN's can be the focal point of things going wrong...Like most jobs it can have moments of sheer terror interspersed with regular mundane tasks, and every once in a while a super great feeling.

[soulspinner]

2017 had a total hip replacement.Nurses tried to get a vein in my arm and couldn't. 7 tries later one of them is so apologetic almost to tears. The sheets and my arm so bloodied...I told the floor nurses I wasn't going anywhere anyway and upon discharge let their supervisor know what a kind caring bunch they were. It was a very pleasant surprise.

[biker72]

+1 for nurses.
After my hip repair surgery I spent almost 2 weeks in rehab at the same campus. Same hospital different building. Those nurses are required to do things you couldn't pay me enough to do.

Day shift or night shift, they all had their happy faces on.

[Elefantino]

+ ∞ on nurses. Like them so much I married one!

[Bentley]

I agree with the OP, but in some sense there are many folks in Service type jobs who have to do a great job to keep things running well. I had a job where I was responsible for a large facility, we had one guy that would berate the janitorial staff, one day a woman staffer came into my office in tears over the treatment she received... I took the woman to the mans office and “explained” that behavior was and is not acceptable.... lots of folks, have thankless jobs that need to get done... let’s show appreciation to all of them... especially nursing staff.

Best

Ray

[oldpotatoe]

Daughter in Law a Nurse..plus wife and I have had enough visits to Hospital to see that the 'brains' of the operation along with the compassion rests squarely with the Nurses. Docs I had 'ok' but none showed the caring and compassion I saw with the nurses.

[makoti]

I've worked with Hospital RNs for the past 15 years. I've seen them put up with abuse, verbal and physical, seen them yelled at by Drs who screwed up & have no one else to blame, and turn around and smile at the next person they saw as if the entire day was perfect. They are smarter, more caring than I could ever hope to be. Sometimes people ask me if I'm a nurse, and I tell them, "Heck no, I'm not smart enough to be a nurse".

As someone else pointed out, there are many people who do jobs behind the scene, cleaning, food service, transport, and they all deserve courtesy and thanks.

[sjbraun]

As a now retired RN with over 30 years of practice, I thank you all for your kind words. It's a great honor to help others in times of need.

[fmradio516]

This. Also Nurse Jackie is a great show.

[parris]

Quite simply nurses ARE the people that keep us alive when we have to be in a health care setting. The amount they go what we could consider above and beyond is staggering. The kicker is that they for the most part "just" see it as part of the job. God bless em!

[rePhil]

We are proud in laws..I'll chime in....Like OP our daughter in law is a nurse. She spent 10 years splitting her time between the NICU & PICU. I've heard the stories of starting IV's in premature babies. It's no wonder screaming, crying kids don't bother her.

She is fun to watch and play Jeopardy with too.

To mix things up this year she switched gears and became a school nurse, along with a couple of weekend shifts at the hospital.

And from personal experience of a couple of days in the Trauma center and ICU after getting crashed, nurses have my total respect.
And in the same vein, The best was getting 30 stitches from above my eye to in my ear from a PA while suggesting I watch the Foo Fighters Sonic Highway on HBO while recovering.
Bless them one and all.

[gomango]

Just had a screening colonoscopy yesterday.

Not a "fun" process, but the nursing staff did an amazing job.

All cheerful, helpful with questions/service and highly professional.

When my wife asked why I was smiling so much afterwards, it wasn't the sedative.

The nurses and staff were responsible for the big grin.

[YoKev]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

+ ∞ on nurses. Like them so much I married one!

Me too!

She worked in ICU and then later Med/Surg. Shes extremely smart, but found the hospital setting unfulfilling after a while.

Struggles were constant staffing shortages, insane supervisors, egotistic doctors, crazy (darn right rude) family members, and of course, death. On top of those stresses, 12 hour shifts always with the possibility of being mandated to stay an extra 4 hours...only to get home, grab a few more hours of sleep, and get back in for the 7AM shift. She even got talked to because two patients gave her a bad review on a hospital exit survey. One complaint was cold coffee and the other she refused a turkey sandwich because of medically necessary dietary restrictions....insanity.

So, she went back to school and is now a Nurse Practitioner. She loves her job in urgent care. She comes home tired, but none of the bedside nursing dramas that were slowly wearing her down stress her out anymore.

[DreaminJohn]

Awesome and timely thread. Dad's been in the hospital/rehab for 2+ weeks now.

I've been privy to the secret of nurses being the backbone of healthcare for some time now, as I worked in hospitals for a bit in the 90s. Some day if you get enough beer in me I'll tell you how a cardio surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic got me fired for me calling him "unreasonable".

:-)

Pro tip: when visiting loved ones at health facility, coffee and donuts delivered to the nurses' station go a long way. Here in NJ I do a Dunkin Donuts Box o' Joe and a dozen donuts. I've done this countless times over the years and it's never failed to get some folks excited.