My Best Nursing Job Ever

My best job ever is being a CPR Instructor!!!!!!!!!!!! I love my job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My best was as a medical assistant and then an RN for the best doctor in the whole universe.

Sad to say I am still looking for a good niursing job where I am happy.

Wow....what an article. I am a BRAND new nurse just waiting to transfer to Third Floor at our facility, which is Medical Oncology. I am hoping I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new job. I am well aware that there is LOTS of death on that floor, but am hoping I can help families in the same way you have. Thanks for being my inspiration. :redpinkhe

Thanks so much for getting it and for your kind words. Back in the days when physicians almost never brought up "end of life" issues with patients, another very satisfying thing I often did was to sit down with a patient and family and explain the concept of "do not recussitate" and just let them know they had choices about their care. Another nursing role that can make such a difference.

I have worked a variety of jobs in my 30 year career They one, well really 2, I enjoyed the most were both in corrections. One was a 600 bed max facility and the other a small county jail. I learned so much. You just see such a variety of stuff. Every day something new coming in the door. And I also had a lot of laughs. There is a big comradery between corrections staff and nursing. And I met some absolutely wonderful people who dedicated their lives helping to protect the rest of us.

Wow, the liason job sounds great. When I first started in home health way back in the late 80's I was on the hospice team. I loved, loved, loved my job and my coworkers. I was well paid for those days, treated well by my hospital, and thrived on the freedom of independence that you get in home health. Unfortunately, home health has changed tremendously and the working environment is not like it used to be. A lot more stress now because so much pressure is put on the nurse to make money, not just care for patients. My agency went under. The other job I had that was wonderful but did not last was a teaching job- I loved going to work every day and seeing new nurses grow and learn. Unfortunately there is little job security in teaching, and it is hard to get a secure position, so I moved on.Nothing good lasts forever.

Chico David..you and the manner in which you conduct yourself, in my opinion, exemplifies nursing excellence. Not everyone can do what you do. Nurses are so unique and authentic. It is not simply a career, nursing is a way of life, a lifestyle, really, and not everyone is suited for it. I remember to this day when my mother had a CABG 20 years ago, and I will never forget and always be grateful to the nurse liaison for keeping myself and my family in the loop. I can tell you what she was wearing, what she looked like, her smile, her careful verbal and non-verbal communication...she is in our hearts forever. A family member would be so fortunate to have you as their guide, in a most scary time in a loved one's life. What a great article!!!!

My favorite job was working on a mother/baby floor as the Discharge Nurse. I love teaching, so I loved being in this educator role. My main responsibility was to teach a morning discharge class to the moms going home, and I also was responsible for handling their discharge paperwork.

BE CAREFUL, of how much you tell the family. The doctor in charge should be the one to tell the family!

I assume you are referring specificly to the cases that don't go well. A couple of thoughts:First, I had a real clear understanding with the doctors that they trusted my judgement on what to say and they wanted the families kept informed. Imagine letting a family think everything was alright and then having the doctor come out to tell them the patient died. If they were going to have to give that news, they wanted it not to come as a bolt out of the blue surprise.Second, it would be immoral to let a family think things were going normally when that was not true, and once they know things aren't going normally, they deserve the information to understand the details to the best of their ability. I would never have accepted such work if I could not be honest with the families about what was happening.

I have to agree with parrotlover... I never pictured myself working in corrections, but I love it. I am an ED, med/surg, outpatient, triage, and psych nurse all rolled into one! There is never a dull day, you always see something new! The best part is not having to deal with annoying families and call bells!!