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iStock | RapidEye
It should come as no surprise to you that nursing is an extremely unique occupation. On any given shift, you witness human kindness, pain, strength, suffering and even the occasional miracle. The shifts are long and the naps aren’t long enough, but there’s something inexplicably incredible about your work that keeps you coming back day after day.
We asked the nurses on the Scrubs Mag Facebook page to tell us about the moments in 2015 that will stay with them for years. Their stories had us grinning from ear to ear…and sometimes tearing up.
“Being part of the preemie’s journey is a gift every shift! No matter how hard…. But to pick one…probably two night shifts with one so adorable active preemie girl fighting for her life…then a few days later trying to do everything to help her (and her parents) as she lost her fight…” —Martina B.
“An rt whom I had cared for from her admission many, many years ago as a ‘walkie-talkie’ with early signs of Alzheimer’s and was now basically non-communicative and sat in her gerichair staring blankly. I approached her one day as I made rounds as supervisor, having not seen her for over three months. I caressed her cheek as I leaned down to speak to her, and she raised her face, touched my cheek and said, ‘You came back, you always come back. I love you.’ The floor nurses gasped as I stood crying like a baby. Those moments make EVERYTHING worth it!” —Lisa R.
“A patient allowed myself and my clinical student friends to watch as a cyst on the genitals was cleaned and packed. Very thankful as we were a co-ed group and it was such a private area. Kudos to that patient!” —Cris L.
“STEMI patient’s family asking me to be with them as they let him go as I’d been with them since admit even though he wasn’t mine that night. Such an impact on my heart.” —Kelly C.
“Telling a mother who had been severely burned trying to reach her children in a house fire that her children were all alive and doing very well. She had lingered in limbo (for lack of better words) for a week and she almost instantly made a complete turnaround and came back up to life.” —Jennifer C.
Now it’s your turn: What was your most meaningful on-the-job moment this year? Drop your story in a comment below!
