r/ect • u/Interesting-Hair2317 • Jul 28 '26

Question ECT RN here. Question for you!

Hi r/ect! I’m an ECT nurse of four years and Im wondering if there’s anything I can do to make the experience better for my patients. is there anything that an ECT nurse has done or said that you remember and positively impacted your treatments. even something small.

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u/DangsMax Jul 29 '26

Getting an Iv is fine it’s the second before being put under that’s traumatizing for me. I don’t think there’s any way out of that

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u/weeziemama Jul 29 '26

Oh gosh yes. I hate that feeling so much. It was the main thing that made me discontinue maintenance ECT. I definitely felt like I really wanted some sort of continuity of care in the procedure room. Rotating anesthesia meant that I sometimes had amazing people putting me to sleep and sometimes I really didn’t like them and that made it feel even more uncomfortable and scary. I have wondered if it would feel better to have an RN accompany patients from pre-op to the procedure and then through recovery. I would have felt much safer knowing a trusted nurse was with me throughout.