My experiences with Nurse Jan went above and beyond the scope of 95% of nurses I have encountered. I became very depressed this year after having spent 10 months in a hospital setting. In those 10 months, I went from being a fully functional kindergarten teacher to having 3 major, very serious, surgeries at Cedars where I had to relearn all ADL skills twice, lost the ability to walk independently and live freely and lost control of major bodily functions including bowel and bladder. The delicate sensibility and care Jan showed me during this time was not typical of simply excellent nurses. I was ashamed of being in diapers and usually cried during these procedures, but Jan had me laughing hysterically and feeling so protected I totally forgot what we were doing.
Jan was also genuine, gentle and sensitive in how she would remind me we needed to do these changes. She also spent extra time asking if there was anything we could do to make me feel more cared for. She had a way of also talking about our safety plan without being the least bit condescending. Before I personally had Jan as my nurse, I always watched her care for one particular senior woman whose depression left her catatonic. Fortunately, thru ECT, this woman returned to her bubbly outgoing and graceful self but the thing that impressed me about Jan was how she treated her no different than before her recovery. A lot of even good nurses get kind of sloppy when it seems the patient isn't aware of what's going on anyways - but Jan was so tender and remarkable that it made me want to have Jan as my nurse.
The elderly woman commented about how often people think that the catatonically depressed patients are a lost cause but Jan restored hope and dignity to the both of us.