Here's a feel-good post

41 I am orienting on a hospice floor as a still-pretty-new-grad. The other day, my Coworker & I went in to give a resident a bed bath. This poor guy is in constant pain, even though he has a PCA pump, and it hurts when we move him. He doesn't say anything usually, just moaning & groaning in pain.

So, as we are rolling him over to clean his backside, I tell him he can hold my hand & squeeze if he needs to (and boy did he squeeze!) I held his hand the entire time we did the bed bath and kept talking to him to try to distract him from the pain.

The next day, when I went in to check on him, he held my hand, smiled at me & said "hello my angel". I almost cried. That little thing I did the day before, just holding his hand, made a difference.

I just had to share. I think it's a good reminder that sometimes something so little can mean so much to someone else.
Nursing really isn't about the dramatic codes and adrenaline you see on TV... the biggest impact are the little things that mean the most. That someone actually CARES enough to take those few seconds to say I see YOU! and I care.I was pretty young when I wanted to be a nurse. There was this horrible accident on the highway we were all stopped and the helicopter landed a girl was trapped. Through all the chaos what I noticed the most was that one person who laid by the wreckage and held that outstretched hand talking calmly. I could see the trapped girl nodding her head and smile at the person. I knew it was a nurse as she had RN on the back of her flight suit....while the rest of the team frantically, methodically, cut her free. This nurse held her hand into the chopper. I knew what I wanted that day.Welcome to nursing! Well done...((HUGS))

So freakin sweet!!!!!! You're awesome

Wonderful work, Nurse. What a lovely moment--thank you for sharing with us!

Wonderful! It made me a bit teary. Thank you so much for sharing.

Wonderful A doctor told me this years ago and it works great. If you want a patient to squeeze your hand/fingers like you did have them squeeze two fingers only. I have yet to figure out why but when they squeeze only two fingers it hardly hurts, but if they squeeze 3 or 4 fingers it can hurt a lot.

Quote from brownbookWonderful A doctor told me this years ago and it works great. If you want a patient to squeeze your hand/fingers like you did have them squeeze two fingers only. I have yet to figure out why but when they squeeze only two fingers it hardly hurts, but if they squeeze 3 or 4 fingers it can hurt a lot.

When my father was sick that's what I looked for. Nurses who care! It's a wonderful feeling for the patient to know that someone is will to go the extra mile to ensure their comfort. Job well done!

Thank you for sharing this positive experience! As a prenursing student and new member to these forums I've read mostly dreary or depressing posts from people who are unhappy (not that I think nursing is all roses and bubblegum) but thanks again for the daily inspiration.

Heartwarming...thanks for sharing

Those are the moments that make it all worthwhile.

Quote from Esme12Nursing really isn't about the dramatic codes and adrenaline you see on TV... the biggest impact are the little things that mean the most. That someone actually CARES enough to take those few seconds to say I see YOU! and I care.I was pretty young when I wanted to be a nurse. There was this horrible accident on the highway we were all stopped and the helicopter landed a girl was trapped. Through all the chaos what I noticed the most was that one person who laid by the wreckage and held that outstretched hand talking calmly. I could see the trapped girl nodding her head and smile at the person. I knew it was a nurse as she had RN on the back of her flight suit....while the rest of the team frantically, methodically, cut her free. This nurse held her hand into the chopper. I knew what I wanted that

I had a similar experience in nursing school. One of my assigned patients was getting a PICC line inserted, and she was a bit disoriented and VERY afraid, I'd even say she was terrified. Since my charting was done and my meds were passed, I had some free time available and I got permission from my clinical instructor to "observe" the PICC line insertion. What I actually did was stand on the other side of the bed, holding her other hand under the sterile drape and talking to her the whole time. I explained what the PICC nurse was doing, and also explained what the PICC itself was (in her confused state, she thought we were going to be threading a huge needle in her arm and leaving it there -- no wonder the poor dear was so terrified!). And I also just chatted about the weather or whatever else I could think of to take her mind off what was happening on the other side of the bed.I doubt she remembered me the next day, but I for the time that she knew me, I made her life just a tiny bit better. What a great feeling!