Baby Sandar was born March 30 at Zoo Atlanta. While Sandar was a welcome addition to the zoo’s population of endangered primates, he weighed less than 1 kg at birth and wouldn’t nurse. Zookeepers intervened in an effort to save his life.

The staff veterinarians knew the animal needed special care, and called the nurses at the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s Healthcare Atlanta. The nurses helped the staff determine what size feeding tube would be most appropriate for Sandar. They also donated countless hours to care for the young primate.

The nurses received specialized training, but also drew upon their nursing knowledge. Chrys Fields, RNC, BSN told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “We took what we knew, changed it up a bit and adapted. That’s what nurses do — we flex.”

Sandar’s condition ultimately worsened, despite his round-the-clock care, and he was euthanized July 1. The nurses say they learned a lot from their special patient. “Caring for [Sandar] brought us back to the basics of nursing,” Fields told the Journal Constitution, “and reminded us why we do what we do.”

Has a unique patient affected your nursing career?

Source:

www.ajc.com

Image: dobdesign | Veer

Nursing certainly has its ups and downs, but the happy moments make the profession worthwhile. Here is a collection of quotes from nurses as they reflect on the best moments of their career.

1. “The ‘ups’ of nursing are when a discharged patient and his family knock on the ICU door with heartfelt thanks to you and your team for taking good care of their family member. Those simple gestures of gratitude lift you up and make you say to yourself, ‘I’m glad to be a nurse because I made a difference!’”
—Nonoisky Adle

2. “I love nursing. Today I managed a patient’s pain and she was hungry (she has gastric cancer)! She said it was the first time she’s had an appetite in a long time.”
—Carrie Garcia

3. “I am a student nurse. One day at clinical, I was going crazy trying to get information for my care plan when I heard someone yell, ‘I have to go to the bathroom!” This was not my patient, and I looked around hoping there was someone who was going to go into the room. Again I heard the patient yell, ‘Bathroom please!’

“I looked at my fellow classmates and said, ‘I have a feeling this will take a while.’ I walked into the room, and behind the curtain (in a room by herself) was a 65-year-old Down’s patient. My heart immediately melted as I have a sister with Down’s syndrome. She was soaked! She said, ‘Bathroom please,’ with a frustrated face.

“She was shivering because she had been sitting in urine for so long and needed a bath. It took me and two classmates to bathe her—she was terrified and a bit uncooperative. By the end of the longest bath (well, besides my very first) that I have ever given, she went from barely speaking to joking and laughing.

“I ended up leaving clinical that day 40 minutes late, but the smile on her face was priceless. I know I will probably have many more experiences to speak of, but at the end of my career, I know I will remember the first day I knew I truly made a patient’s day a better one.”
—Patty Haisman

4. “Not too long ago as a student nurse, I had to be my patient’s advocate. My patient was in a lot of pain and showed all physical signs, too (grimacing, grunting, fidgeting, etc.). The patient’s ‘real’ nurse was very busy when the doctor was making rounds, so it was up to me to be my patient’s voice. After the doc did his exam, I stated to him that this patient had been in a lot of pain, even after the prescribed meds (8 on a scale of 10). Doc cut me off…I felt so ‘little.’ Later the doc pulled me aside and praised my actions for being the patient’s advocate. He explained that he cut me short because he trusted my judgment, because I presented my story with solid medical facts and observations. WOO HOO!”
—Dawn Angiulli

5. “I came out of school and went straight to the MICU. Once, we admitted a man who had been hit in the head with a TV set. He was older, had a dent in his skull and was comatose. Every day that I worked, I talked to him, opened the blinds and encouraged him. A couple of months later, he woke up and I got to feed him an orange popsicle. WOW!!”
—Elaine Hutto

6. “With my first patient death, I wasn’t ready for all the emotions. I didn’t think I did anything different—just the same as I could have done with any other resident. But after many months have passed, the sons of my resident still come and look for me to say hi when they come and visit their mother. And every time they are so grateful for the care. That touches my heart deeply and I know I will always keep this family in heart!!!”
—Sandra Milena Toro Lujan

7. “With my first job after passing boards, the eagerness to help others was overwhelming! There have been so many moments when I have been truly happy to be a nurse! I am happy every day to help others, even when the exhaustion sets in! To make another feel better is the most wonderful feeling in my soul! It lights me up!”
—JoBeth Brown

8. “I went to St. Thomas as a traveling nurse and learned more about nursing than [from] books, clinical and other conditions such as running out of medicines (OOS). It wasn’t all the fancy meds and equipment that kept the patients alive. Being able to spend more time at bedside with the patient and family was what helped put a smile on my face.”
—Laura Jean Hall

9. “One of my favorite moments was discharging a baby I had cared for from the NICU (where I worked) after seven long and stressful months. It was great to finally see her parents put her in a car seat and drive away!”
—Kim Grenkiewicz Carty

10. “I was truly happy that I became a nurse when my mother-in-law asked me to come look at a scraped knee that a little boy in her daycare had. He wouldn’t let my MIL or his own mom look at it, but because I was a nurse, he let me look at it. I felt like I had magical powers even though it was something as simple as a scraped knee!”
—Kati Gertken

11. “It’s the thought that you’re one of the privileged professionals to witness a little angel pass through the tunnel of life and be the first to attest their first breath on this planet Earth. You’ll welcome those little angels to this wonderful world from an awe-inspiring profession: nursing. I love being a nurse!”
—Mark Joseph Hernandez

12. “I was very happy the first time in a delivery room. It was a young couple who had lost previous infants through difficult pregnancies and they wanted this baby so badly. Once the head started to crown, I had to catch the father so he wouldn’t hit the floor. Then when the baby was out, we all cried. I will never forget that feeling and the look on the parents’ faces seeing their beautiful baby girl. Priceless.”
—Donna Margin

13. “Mine was when I had a patient who was (I won’t use the word ‘mean,’ so let’s say he was ‘ornery’)…very ornery. One morning he choked and was turning blue, gasping. I couldn’t get my arms around him because he was so big, so I hit him hard on the back and almost knocked him out of his chair many times. The item flew out of his mouth and across the room. I was crying and apologized for hitting him so hard when he motioned for me to come close. I did so very carefully, not sure what he was going to do, when he kissed me on the cheek and said, ‘Thank you.’ Every time he was ornery from then on, I tried to remember how he really was. I love my job.”
—Lisa Westbrook

14. “Anytime a patient looks at me and just says, ‘Thank you so much’—that makes it all worth it.”
—Ali Hernandez

What’s been your happiest moment as a nurse?

Originally, when I started my job search I thought I would look for another manager job, and if I couldn’t find anything out there, I would go back to staffing or a charge nurse in the emergency department.  Things I knew how and what to do and could just jump in without a lot of orientation.  Then, as I was looking around and seeing that there were very few jobs out there right now, I made a decision to try something completely new.

Yesterday I interviewed for a position in a clinic.  I had never even thought about clinic work before.  It’s not that it didn’t appeal to me or that I thought I was too good for it; it just never even crossed my mind.  As I was interviewing, talking to the manager, the nurses in the clinic and the physicians, I got really excited about the opportunities that this could be for me.

Being able to really learn about my patients and really focus on their wellness and not just their emergent or acute problems.  The opportunity to really educate my patients and ensure that they understand that education is exciting. 

This is a specialty clinic too, so the opportunity to really focus on one thing, and learn all the things that I don’t know, or only think I know is great.

I am really excited about this opportunity and am waiting by the phone waiting for their call.  Usually in my life when I want to make a change, I make a big change and just go for it, all out and really work to ensure I am successful in that change…..I think this is one of those times.

 When I got into nursing I knew that leadership was what I was cut out for.  I was a great bedside nurse, but I knew my skills were better suited to lead teams to greatness.  When I was a staff nurse, and an opportunity came to orient to charge, I jumped on it.  I was ready to move into a full time charge position or a manager position on the unit I worked in, but they were never coming around, so I looked outside that department and found an educator position on a med/surg unit.  Then a few months later, a manager position opened up.  I jumped at that opportunity, got the job and have proven myself as a true leader.

 I have always felt that I am the only person that can determine my destiny.  I make mistakes or missteps all the time, but I would never had found those opportunities if I didn’t take a chance and put myself out there.  Heck, what’s the worst than can happen, I get shot down. 

 Whenever I interview new staff, I ask them what their future career goals are.  I don’t ask because I want to see if I am going to get a commitment from them or not, I ask because I really want to know.  If there is something I can do to help them meet their career goals, I am there to help them.  I will help them to see those opportunities and jump at them when they present themselves.  I do ask for some sort of commitment from them, but I also know that a nurse with a goal and direction can not be stopped, so I might as well help them.

 If your goal is something beyond where you are at right now, start creating those opportunities for yourself and get out there.

Image: Jochen Sands | Digital Vision | Thinkstock

As a parent I let my expectation be known to my child and they can work within those expectations when making decisions on her behavior (note:  it does not always work with a four year old, but it’s never to soon to get her learning).  As an ED nurse dealing with a large amount of psych and intoxicated patients, I let my expectations be known with them (note:  it does not always work with an intoxicated college kid, in fact even less than with a four year old).  And, as a manager I let my expectations be known to my staff.

On the first day I was on the unit, I told my staff what my expectations are.  They were pretty simple.  I expected everyone to be at work, to be at work on time, to do their jobs while they were here and to follow hospital policies to ensure we are providing safe and effective patient care.

I have found that expressing my expectations and listening to the expectations of my staff helps all us focus on what is important in our day to day operations.  They know where I am coming from and I know where they are coming from.

I found this is great practice as a nurse, too.  In the morning when I am introducing myself to my patients, I find out what their goals for the day are, or what they expect to get out of it and me.   And I am able to express my goals for them and I want expect from them to meet those goals.  Usually, are goals are pretty similar and things work out wonderfully.

By giving your expectations of kids, patients or staff, you are able to hold them accountable for their actions or behavior.  If you told them from day one that they you expect something from them and they can not, or refuse to, do that then you can hold their feet to the fire.  That also goes the other way if I am expected to do something by my staff and I don’t perform, I would expect them to call me out.

So, my expectation of all of you is to talk one idea from this and use it in your daily practice….and I will hold you all accountable.

Image: iStockphoto | Thinkstock

Is it true that nurses are just doctor wannabes? Find out the statistic about nursing education that handily debunks this myth, plus four more fun facts that will prove to be food for thought the next time you set foot in a classroom.

1. First, let’s debunk a myth. Ever heard the phrase “Nurses are just doctor wannabes”? If this is true, why are nurses almost 100 times more likely to go on to graduate from nursing school than medical school?

2. Just a century ago, nurses weren’t allowed to be married…and certainly not pregnant. It was almost 100 years ago (in 1919) that Great Britain established the first oversight nursing training and standards. Conditions have certainly changed since then—nurses are now allowed to be married and even work while pregnant.

3. Meet the first U.S. nurse. In 1873, Linda Richards became the first nurse to earn a nursing diploma in the United States. The first hospital nursing school on record was established in Germany in 1864.

4. And the first nursing masters degree? Columbia University School of Nursing was the first university to offer a master’s degree in a clinical nursing specialty, in 1956. It’s estimated that 13 percent of the nursing population, or 377,046, have a master’s or doctoral degree.

5. Nursing is a popular choice of study. Nursing students make up more than half of all students in all health programs. This shouldn’t be surprising. Nurses comprise the largest group of healthcare professionals in primary and long-term care.

How many of those nursing students do you think actually end up working as nurses? Leave us your best guess in our comments section.

Sources:
www.nursingadvocacy.org
www.aacn.nche.edu
www.nmc-uk.org
www.northnet.org
www.nursing.hs.columbia.edu

I have a couple of examples of what I am talking about, I am sure you will see what you should be looking for in a manager, and what can hold you back in your career goals.

When I am welcoming new employees to my unit, I meet with them on the first day to discuss my expectations of them, and to learn about what their goals are.  I make it clear that I know that they are not going to be working for me for ever, and that I want to help them grow as a nurse while they are on our unit so they can reach those goals.  Whether that is moving to the ICU, the ED or L&D, I know they have goals, and if I know those goals, I can help them achieve them.

This is new for a lot of nurses who are used to their managers expecting them to stay on the unit forever.  They are not used to a leader helping them and coaching them to meet and hopefully exceed those goals they have set for themselves.

Contrast that to my situation.  My organization is going though a lot of changes in the department of nursing.  There are directors and higher up the organizational chart that have left opening new opportunities for those managers that are looking go move up to these positions, like myself.

Last week I sent an email to my boss explaining that I am interested in moving up the ladder.  I explained my goals and asked her if she could support me and mentor me in these new positions.  I explained why I felt that I would be the perfect candidate for one of these positions and the positive changes I could make.

I received an email back that really just shot me down.  She was completely unsupportive and did not provide any positive support or feedback.  I am disheartened, and disillusioned with her and this organization that I have put some many years into.  I am seriously considering leaving because of the lack of support given to me.

Which one would you like to have?  Somebody that wants to know your dreams and helps you to achieve them, or somebody that doesn’t ask, and doesn’t seem to care or support you when you tell them?

Pretty easy choice for me.

Image: iStockphoto | Thinkstock

This weekend I was home alone with my four year old.  If you have kids you know how it goes, or if you don’t I am sure you remember your mother or father doing this to you.  Your kids is doing something they are not supposed to be doing, you correct them, but they continue, so you count 1, your better stop before I get to 3…..2, you are about to get in big trouble……3, go to your room!

As I was going though the 1-2-3 dance with my daughter for about the 15^th time this weekend, I was thinking how great it would be if dealing with staff was that easy.  I could just walk out of my office, look at them, maybe raise an eyebrow or furrow my brow and they straighten up.  And then as a last resort start counting.

Here’s the scenario I was thinking.  Nurse Sarah comes to work late for the fourth time in a row.  I have talked to her about several times, but she continues to come in late.  Finally, I confront her by giving her my best look of disapproval and saying how disappointed I am in her actions.  She proceeds to tell that it is not a big deal, she is only 5 minutes late and I doesn’t make a difference.  I ask her to stop, but she continues.  So I start with ONE……still Nurse Sarah tells me I am being unreasonable and I shouldn’t have any concern for her private life.  I ask Nurse Sarah to stop before I get to three or I will send her home.  TWO…..Nurse Sarah becomes even more angry and yells at me.  Finally, THREE, Nurse Sarah please get your stuff and go home you are being suspended.

Then next time I start the 1 – 2 – 3 dance with an employee, they know how serious I am and they stop at two.  How great would that be?

(For those of you that are all worked up about this and already working on your responses to tell me off….it’s a joke, lighten up!)

Image: Brand X Pictures | Thinkstock

Heading to work day in and day out can oftentimes lead to a rollercoaster in the morale department. Although I love my job, the night before a shift just the thought of having to get up and spend 13 hours of the next day cooped up in a hospital sounds less than appealing. I think nurses can easily get lost in a degree of job apathy or career burnout, if you will. Realistically, a rather poignant stigma found throughout our profession is that of burnout- the old wives tail that “matured” nurses are crabby and overworked.

I will admit, in light of springtime and summer vacations rapidly approaching, the monotony of the workday seemed daunting recently. But just in the knick of time (and perhaps Florence herself would vouch for impeccable timing) a beautiful Nurses Week just concluded. A simple week that revamped all feelings of gratitude that I have for the nursing profession and for my job. Nurses Week is meant to honor the service, commitment, and dedication that each of us provides in our daily work as care providers. I frequently get asked the cliché question, “So why did you become a nurse?” and decided to finally compose a list of the reasons why I so love this profession. Thank you, Florence Nightingale, because this year more than any I feel so very fortunate to have the letters RN behind my name. And I may even print a copy of my “love notes to nursing” to keep with me at work when the going gets tough, just to remind myself of how fortunate I really am.

Love notes to nursing

1. What other profession allows you wear the most comfortable uniform known to the professional world? Does it get any better than scrubs?
2. There is nothing more special than becoming attached to a sick patient who recovers and returns in their robust form for a visit with words of gratitude for the care you provided at their most difficult time.
3. Three day work week. End of story.
4. Opportunities in the field are remarkably endless. Interested in oncology? Pediatrics? Rehab? Mental health? Critical care? Infusion clinics? Cardiology? Orthopedics?  The novelty being that I could work in some/all of these specialties if I so desire.
5. One of my favorite moments is praising and supporting new parents as they bathe their post-surgical infant for the first time.
6. My metabolism never gets bored of all of the goodies that families bring to the nurses station.
7. Ever cried at the mailbox? I did, after opening up a handwritten thank you card from the parents of a child that had passed away. They were thanking me for the care I provided their child. What they don’t know is that I thank them daily for the life lessons I have gained through their experiences.
8. Thanks to night shifts, I now consider getting a full night’s rest one of life’s greatest pleasures.
9. I have adopted a rather large, loving extended family consisting of patients and families that have lengthy hospital admissions. I am thankful for each of them and treasure the Christmas cards I receive from these “family” members.
10. There is nothing more gratifying than being deemed a patient’s favorite nurse.
11. I have successfully adorned my entire refrigerator with art and pictures drawn by my little hospitalized Picassos.
12. There are plenty of professions where you get the chance to advocate for your client, but there is something different, and something special, about advocating for someone’s life.
13. My work does not go unnoticed, sometimes unbeknownst to me. The greatest flattery as a nurse? Being nominated and featured in a publication, Atlanta Hospital News, and not seeing it until after print.
14. The working relationship between doctors and nurses is superb, and I feel strongly that my suggestions and concerns about care are taken into account with each decision that is made.
15. I work in a profession that puts no cap on learning, each day is filled with new and exciting learning experiences.
16. Nursing and medical research are strongly correlated, and I love my organization’s commitment to striving to provide the best practice of care based on evidence-based practice.
17. I will forever be convinced that children are the most resilient of all human beings.
18. Most importantly, I love my profession because as long as I have made a child’s day a little bit better, I know I have succeeded.

Thank you, fellow nurses, for all you do!