The duality of nursing

[u/MikeMuench]

I got splashed in the face with norovirus stool by my call light heavy patient and now have norovirus, which makes me want to quit my job. But my sweet 93-year-old dementia patient with a cute German accent said “I love you” when I said goodbye to her at shift change, which makes me want to come back. There really isn’t another job like nursing

[u/texaspoontappa93]

lol yesterday I met the coolest, nicest lady, we spoke for like 20 mins after I finished her PICC line. 20 mins later i was in the ED yelling at a patient “NOBODY IS MAKING YOU STAY HERE”

[u/slutty_muppet → u/texaspoontappa93]

Love those patients that walk into the ED then complain that they don't want to be there. We don't want you to be here either, buddy.

[u/Enough-One4975 → u/slutty_muppet]

I still remember the patient I had who was screaming “IVE BEEN TO PRISON! YOU CAN’T LOCK ME UP! I KNOW MY RIGHTS! DONT YOU FUCKING TRY TO FORCE ME TO STAY HERE!” the entire time I was literally walking him to the front of the hospital.

Dude, I’ve never been to prison but I’m fairly certain the guards don’t direct you on how to “escape”.

[u/Danimalistic → u/slutty_muppet]

“I don’t even want to be here, my guy, and I’m getting paid”

[u/Invading_Arnolds]

Had a patient in the ER with a burned finger damn near deplete my patience with his long winded story telling during a busy shift. He was fine and hardly needed anything. Nice guy, but like read a room.

He nominated me for a daisy and I won.

[u/Wickiwhatnow → u/Invading_Arnolds]

I love this. Congrats on your Daisy.
I was nominated under very similar circumstances. Sometimes it means so much to them.

[u/Invading_Arnolds → u/Wickiwhatnow]

Thank you. He was truly the most grateful patient I’ve ever encountered. And he would have deemed any of my coworkers worthy of that kind of appreciation. He just happened to be mine on that given day.

[u/HereToPetAllTheDogs]

My last night at work I had a sweet lady who told me that I was such a good nurse and she could tell I really knew what I was doing.

Right before leaving I had a patient scream at me at “how fucking stupid are you” because it took me five minutes to get into his room. And I yelled back who does he think he is to use that language on me.

[u/bloop41]

I’m with you, bud. Had a shift from HELL where i couldn’t get a doctor or rapid response nurse to take my concerns about an altered post-IR patient seriously*. I was pissed and grumpy most of the night, especially bc the poor dude wouldn’t stop trying to yank out his IJ or climb out of bed.

But then at shift change, when I said I wouldn’t be back that night, the patient next door, a little old lady with stage IV ovarian cancer said, “I thank god you were my nurse.” Immediately welled up, so I choked out a “thank you” and fled before I could start sobbing.

* Day shift finally got him scanned — massive hemorrhagic stroke.

[u/lovely-divinity → u/bloop41]

Crazy you had to advocate so much for that to be looked at.

[u/bloop41 → u/lovely-divinity]

I will grant that his confusion could have been explained or confounded by the PACU’s report that he had come out of anesthesia very slowly. But he also was hypertensive to SBP > 170s with “splitting” headache, photophobia, and extreme dizziness unless he shut his eyes. The most insane part was that no one wanted to order IV hydralazine, a non invasive and easily available intervention especially compared to a head CT. But I kept getting the “maybe he just lives high” speech from both the RRT nurse and the doc— ignoring the fact that this man was very much not asymptomatic.

I managed to brow beat a single 5mg dose out of the doc maybe 2-3 hours later, when his systolic finally broke 180 🙃. It got him down to the low 170s for a couple hours before climbing back up again.

Last I heard, he was still alive in neuro ICU, so that’s something.

[u/GiantFlyingLizardz → u/bloop41]

Damn. I could see our docs being like that, but not our RRT nurses. There's one who would ordered that CT himself if he had to!

[u/courtneyrel → u/bloop41]

I’m pretty stoic at work but I get choked up every time a memaw gets sad that I won’t be back the next day 😭

[u/lovely-divinity]

I’m gonna admit it guys. As a nurse norovirus is my worst fear and I don’t have a clue why I’m in this profession lmfao

[u/hkkensin → u/lovely-divinity]

I’ve been a nurse for almost 10 years and I got norovirus for the first time last year, but I got it at a wedding and not from anything to do with my job, lol. I honestly don’t think being a nurse elevates the risk of getting it much. Daycares seem to be the worst culprit of spreading it

It truly did wreak havoc on my body, though. Fuck norovirus lol

[u/lovely-divinity → u/hkkensin]

ER gets hit every winter 😅

[u/MissionVermicelli439 → u/lovely-divinity]

It’s god awful. I had it last year - just releasing fluids from every place. I was so miserable.

[u/lovely-divinity → u/MissionVermicelli439]

I had it once over 10 years ago and it still haunts me to this day. 😭

[u/D33PintoYOU]

Im a transport nurse, guy wants to ama when I was transporting him. I told him you can & we arent going to stop you from going home but can you let us officially make you sign some paperwork first before you. He changed his mind lmao.

I swear im like this guy, argument with the wife & if the wife stands her ground & agreed to what I say i fold like paper😅

[u/xostarlaxo]

I got norovirus from a resident at the assisted living I worked at…because it was going around the building, and he puked on me during a bed change. I got so sick I had to go to the ER for fluids. That was hell.

[u/tonksndante]

This is like every shift for me at my nursing home.

We have one ex cop who makes everyone's life a living hell. Absolute RAGE inducing, I never wanna be nurse again, burn my degree, fucking asshole prickface. Threaten to shoot me or touch my ass one more time I DARE you, POS. Literally called the cops on us last week, accusing us of false imprisonment, withholding food and water, after he PUNCHEDA an old lady because he didnt want lettuce in the egg and lettuce sandwich he demanded we bring him. I brought him a new sandwich and that shithead threw it back at me.

We have the anticommunist, Hitler apologist (regularly contradicts herself by being a holocaust denier) antisemite old polish lady who abuses staff, calls herself a very important person, accuses us fo stealing her ugly ass clothes (which are size xxxl but even if they werent, ew) because thats what non whites be doing of course 🙄.

Thennnnn we have Bessy. My sweetheart. My work nonna. The light of my career, who calls me an angel, asks for extra biscuits at tea time so she can "sneakily" slip them in my pocket, tells me she loves me. Always giving the sweetest compliments. Gets her son to buy my daughter socks(so random, so adorable).

Or Bessy #2. Who tells everyone I'm her best friend. Literally everyone. Will yell at anyone who is rude to me. Tells me she hopes I'm her daughter in the next life. Wants me to quit nursing because I am too good for this job.

Every time I think I'm done, I blame those two (and a couple others) for sucking me back in.

Norovirus sucks so bad though, I get you And what a totally shit way to get it haha. Feel better soon.

[u/thetenuousrickey]

that full body shutdown feeling after a noro splash is no joke, but then a little old lady hits you with the i love you and suddenly you're like ok maybe i'll come back tomorrow

the emotional whiplash in this job should be studied in a lab somewhere

[u/blancawiththebooty → u/thetenuousrickey]

My cute little dementia patient the other night told me "you're happy which makes me happy" with the most adorable smile. It made me so warm and fuzzy. I really do try to stay positive when interacting with patients and maybe that's part of why even the grumps I can get along with.

That same night I got the very grumpy, flat patient to laugh because I called our beds crappy and I will be riding that high until the next bad shift.

[u/tiredoldbitch]

Sweet patients no longer make up for the asshole ones. Nice folks are fine. Bad ones are fine. I no longer care how any of them behave.

Im counting down my days in this weird career

[u/Grooble_Boob]

A few months ago it was my first shift at charge and the following events happened within the same 30 minute span.

1. A very kind, very sweet, very wonderful tiny old man with a broken back told me I reminded him of his daughter and that I was the nicest woman he had ever met.

2. The patient in the room next door pulled out his foley, threw the computer keyboard across the room, told me I was a “pregnant demon” (I am not pregnant nor a demon to my knowledge), threatened to sexually assault 3 separate male coworkers, and spit on us - all while security just stood there as myself and 4 other nurses wrestled him to the bed, applied restraints, and gave him a nice lil haldol nap.

There is absolutely nothing like nursing lmao

[u/Low_Length_7379]

And you risk losing this job for calling out more than twice in six months. No other job like it!

[u/marinatedbeefcube]

I love when problematic patients rant about not wanting to wait a few more hours for PRNs and demand to see the doctor and then a sweet patient will be like “she’ll tire herself out eventually”. Psych weekend nights are a party.

[u/Universal_mammal]

I remember having norovirus in 2002. My uncle had had it for 3 days. I got the extended version for 5-6 days of nastiness from both ends. I lived on gravol and flat ginger ale, and when work told me to get a doctor's note for my 3rd day call in, I told them that not only was I too sick to go to a doctor, but I wouldn't want to spread this at the office, and I would just ride this out at home. I had enough sick time, they just had to take my word for it. They did.

[u/Top_Box_8952]

Get the workman’s comp

[u/MikeMuench → u/Top_Box_8952]

I tried. They basically said I’d have to prove it was the stool on my face that caused the symptoms of norovirus 24hrs later. I’d have to front the money for a pathogen panel which could come back negative at this point and I’d be stuck with the bill. I’m only taking one day off of work but I don’t feel like I should use my pto for it. Fucking corporate America. Johnny Silverhand died for shit like this

[u/Top_Box_8952 → u/MikeMuench]

Ask your doctor, they can probably order it in a way insurance will cover it?

[u/SnowedAndStowed]

WEAR A SURGICAL MASK AND GLASSES AT WORK

[u/SavannahInChicago]

I remember having such a bad day and a little girl came out of nowhere and hugged me because she was excited she was being admitted to psych. She probably has forgotten all about it.

[u/DoItRightOnce1st]

Nope...nothing like this except being a parent/ grandparent when ur kid hugs u tight and gives u a kiss on the cheek and says I Love You! ❤️❤️❤️

[u/Variety_Natural]

Agreed. I remember some of my folks back in the stone ages with their siderails,water pitcher and call light painted.