What’s the nicest compliment you’ve received as a nurse?

I know we’re all just…….surviving out here right now so I wanted to just take a deep breath and lose myself in a little positivity. As a treat. I know it won’t cure the world if it’s ails but maybe I’ll be able to sleep tonight 🥲

So doesn’t have to be from a patient, doesn’t have to be a daisy or anything like that, but what’s the best compliment you’ve gotten from someone in relation to your nursing care. I have two.

First one: charge nurse at my first nursing job was known as The Bitch, capital T capital B. No one “hated” her necessarily because she was good at her job and demanded respect but no one particularly liked her because she wasn’t overly friendly. I’m on my second or third week off orientation and get this patient that’s basically circling the drain and she’s my charge. Hospitalist ignores me most of the day despite repeated pages and when she finally comes up she’s talking about his values this and his scans that and I interrupted her in front of all her med students and told her to go LOOK at the patient actually assess and look at him and tell me what she saw (she said she would but didn’t). Hospice was consulted and in the middle of the consult the guy stops breathing and we have to interrupt his NOK and the hospice doc to ask if they wanted us to start CPR. (They did not thankfully). She helped me thoroughly the day and I kept her updated. Next week we have our unit meeting and our old manager always wrapped up asking for good stories or compliments or what not. The charge nurse/The Bitch pipes up and says how we had an extremely difficult situation and that she was very impressed with how I handled it and I didn’t seem new at all and she doubted any other new grad could’ve done that well. I talked to other nurses later and they were like uhhhh I’ve been here ten years and I’ve never heard her compliment anyone. Ever.

Second one happened just recently. I work outpatient now with a number of docs. I have my primary one but I can/do help with anyone. One of the docs had a nurse for 30+ years named Denny. They were obviously glued at the hip and he cried at her retirement. So he passed by my desk one day and I stopped to chat. He said my hair looked like Denny’s (we both have purple hair) and then “you remind me a lot of Denny” I nearly collapsed. That’s the highest compliment I could’ve ever wakes for! I told my coworkers who knew her before she retired and they were flabbergasted. It was so unexpected and so kind.

Tell me about yours!

Edit: typos