On the 3rd night of my hospital stay the night crew came in and signed for the schedule on my wall and I was a bit disappointed to see that the RN was a man. I been on IVs for 3 days and needed to make frequent trips to the bathroom and was a bit embarrassed. 45 minutes later he came back to my room and took my bp and I mentioned to him that my arm felt wet near the IV needle. He came around the bed and checked it and said it would be necessary to remove it and put in another. When he started I realized that I had neglected to tell the ER room people that can't use regular tape and needed paper tape. It was most unpleasant for both the RN and me to remove that tape, but he was so careful and took his time to do it with the least amount of injury to my arm. He talked to me about the next location because the other arm can't be used because the vein is so deep and they rarely use it. The back of both hands were covered with band-aids because of blood draws but he decided it would be best to use the right one and was able to get it in place with minimum pain and he taped it very carefully so I would catch it on anything. He then left the room and returned with cream and so gently applied it to the skin irritation from the original tape. I was impressed with the gentle way he worked on my hands. (I am 83 years old and the skin is pretty loose).
When it came time to go to the restroom I told him and he carefully disconnected the alarm system, brought over the walker, and guided the IV stand, and walked me over to the bathroom where he was sure I was safe and told me he'd be out in the hall and to pull the red pull string when I was done. At that point, I knew I was wrong about wishing for a different nurse. No one could have been any kinder to me that evening than he was. I was so wrong about my prejudgment and realized that I was lucky to have him assigned to my room. The next night, the first thing he did was to check where the tape had been removed and apply more lotion. It healed so quickly and I'm grateful to him.
This is off the subject but I had to notice....my parents always directed me to stand up straight and be careful about posture. I noticed my nurse working on the screen and couldn't help but notice how straight he stood with shoulders back and head held up when he moved away the steps showed confidence and self-assurance that we all want to see in our medical team. I want to wish him well in the future and continue making this world a better place.