You know what is awesome?

12 When someone (sick, tired, weak, near death, etc) makes the effort to express "Thank you".

For some reason, it always causes me to get a speck of dirt in my eye.

SN - sometimes crazy nights can be the best nights.
So very true. File that away with other treasured nursing moments so you can haul it out to get you through the not-so-good times.

That "Thank you" goes MILES for me as well. It really keeps you going for another couple of weeks/months until you genuinely hear it again Coming to home care has really increased the frequency though which is nice! Glad you had a good shift!

You are so right! I had a S/P CVA patient with aphasia express his thanks at the end of a long shift a few months ago; I teared up.

When I introduce my self, " my name is... and I'll be your nurse now".. and get a thank you.That's always humbling.

One of my residents last night told me "You're so good to me." Cue the waterworks!

I'm a compliment monster. I eat things like that up! I like the 'you're so nice' or 'you're a nice nurse' or 'you're purty' comments.Words like that have really pulled me out of some dark moods. There's been times where I was in the break-room having 20 conniption fits. Grrr. I'll step out to finish my rounds. Grrrr. Walk into a room. Grrr....and a resident lays that on me? I forget what I felt so crappy about and feel 'all better', again.

I'll tell ya, I had one really nasty night last week, the beginning of a three day stretch of 12 hour nights. I prayed about it, to be able to let it go and to hopefully have better nights. Then each night after that I had a patient just say thank you and hug me, it was wonderful to feel appreciated and is definitely something to carry me through.

An honest thanks goes a long way.

I love when I introduce the oncoming nurse to the patient and the patient says " Aw, you're leaving? You were so nice and good to me today".

Or when they ask if you'll be back that night & say "Oh, good!"

it is a such a nice feeling.. my patient today said "thanks for all your help." He came on the floor about (depressed, isolative, flat affect)...today smiling and looking forward to discharge very soon!!

Or when a caretaker daughter says "we've never had a good experience in this ER before, I wish you had been our nurse the other times". Then writes a pt feedback card that goes to your boss and gets put in your file, saying really nice things. Still have my copy of that card.