A surprising number of nurses take patients' conditions personally. I can't say I've never been irritated by a patient asking me to do something trivial and "below my station" (e.g., that time I was rounding and a patient high-handedly told me to get him oreos from his closet), but... I consider that irritation something to be worked at and put away, not a valid feeling towards my patients. But yes, being sick makes people feel helpless, and being cared for - sometimes in an infantilizing ways - makes a lot of people feel significantly reassured. I don't have a drug in my armamentarium as effective at relieving hospitalization anxiety as a loved one showering you with attention. And the loved ones generally feel better for it as well, because they're otherwise helpless to help.
So, yeah, I fetch oreos. And don't have much love for the nurse that thinks it's beneath her to do the same.
A surprising number of nurses take patients' conditions personally. I can't say I've never been irritated by a patient asking me to do something trivial and "below my station" (e.g., that time I was rounding and a patient high-handedly told me to get him oreos from his closet), but... I consider that irritation something to be worked at and put away, not a valid feeling towards my patients. But yes, being sick makes people feel helpless, and being cared for - sometimes in an infantilizing ways - makes a lot of people feel significantly reassured. I don't have a drug in my armamentarium as effective at relieving hospitalization anxiety as a loved one showering you with attention. And the loved ones generally feel better for it as well, because they're otherwise helpless to help.
So, yeah, I fetch oreos. And don't have much love for the nurse that thinks it's beneath her to do the same.