Fear of Zombies

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I have this irrational fear of Zombies.

It probably stems from the resident evil video games and movies that I adore... and the silent hill games that I rather enjoy as well... but I am, in fact, afraid of the potential of the living dead.

I work on the general surgery floor. We also occasionally have medical patients. Sometimes we have hospice patients. And on 2 occasions I have had a patient of mine unexpectedly die. Of those 2, I only performed post mortem care on one of them. The other a designated nurse did. Once they passed away I could not enter the room along. I could not have them face me. I had to have at least 2 other people with me and help me.

I was so scared of the potential for them to leap out of the bed and come after me. Even though I know this is completely irrational, I can't shake this thought.

Am I completely alone in my fear of zombies as a nurse?

Specializes in ED, CTSurg, IVTeam, Oncology.

That would depend. Were any of your patients exposed to the T-Virus, or traveled to Raccoon City in the last 30 days? :eek:

LOL... No, I have yet to see a stiff get up and do the Romero Rumba. Seriously, the only "Zombies" that I've seen were the one's maxed out on pressors, and in PEA... :D

Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

I worked with a CNA who was Hatian ( i think) and she would flip out when a patient in her care died. She would not go in the room alone and even after the patient was removed she would not return back into the room alone for the rest of the shift.

Rest assured that in the entire span of my career i have never ever had a departed patient leap out of bed.... granted if i ever did i think i'd need a new set of scrubs.

One thought comes to mind- i hope that no one ever decides to play up this fear of yours by playing a prank. Nurses can be so cruel!

Specializes in student; help!.

All you need to do is be sure you can deliver a good head shot and you should be fine.

You need to play the game left 4 dead. In the game it's the zombie apocalypse. In one level the goal is to enter "Mercy Hospital" and get to the rooftop and catch a helicopter ride out of town. Swarms of zombies in scrubs and gowns must be defeated. Playing this game will help your fear. Well...probably not. But the game is pretty sweet!

Fear or no fear- the only thing that you can do is be ready. I agree with the training- like the above post. I was very glad that the government or the business sector (EA games, valVe, etc...) recognized the need to be well prepared by putting out such realistic training simulations such as the ones mentioned before (resident evil, left for dead, etc...)

My advice- get a PS3, start training and carry around a shotgun under your labcoat (I think that all-heart has one that has a special tactical lab coat with a special inner pocket to carry a sawed off...) so no matter what you are well prepared even if you are afraid.

Specializes in TSICU, Renal Transplant, IR, Cath Lab.
You need to play the game left 4 dead. In the game it's the zombie apocalypse. In one level the goal is to enter "Mercy Hospital" and get to the rooftop and catch a helicopter ride out of town. Swarms of zombies in scrubs and gowns must be defeated. Playing this game will help your fear. Well...probably not. But the game is pretty sweet!

Zombies in scrubs!? This adds a whole new dimension to the concept of nurses eating their young! -- LOL

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

Funny...my new favorite music album is titled "Dawn of the Dead". It's underground hip-hop/rap...you can't get me to watch the movie--either one--to save my life though.

Seriously...sometimes being around the dead weirds a person out--I'm not entirely comfortable with it either. And that's OK. Just take deep breaths and remind yourself that no matter what you see in the movies, the dead really don't reanimate. It hasn't happened in a couple of thousand years, and it's not going to happen anytime soon.

And get the Zombie Survivial Guide (you can order it off of Amazon). Perhaps a little desensitization by reading up on zombies and the author's ideas on how to whack them will help you overcome (or at least control) your fear.

Interesting fear. My biggest problem with people dying is the massive amount of paperwork that follows, the numerous phone calls, and interacting with friends and family members after they receive the bad news. The reality of death being; there are many real issues such as family support, organ/tissue donation, and so on that zombies never really crossed my mind.

However, a certain degree of discomfort around dead people is normal. If you are able to perform your duties without too much of a problem, your fear of zombies should not be a big problem.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Shotguns are too bulky. You need a powerful handgun. Light, yet not burdensome enough to inhibit the ability to do your job on a regular basis.

Cmonkey's got the right idea - go for the head. It'll be messy, but it's better than a zombie eating your brain. If he does get you before you get the gun out, go for nuts. I've never tried this theory, but at that point you're out of options. Luckily they're usually slow and dumb.

I had just finished playing the Mercy Hospital map on Left for Dead and imagine my surprise when I logged on and saw this post. No worries, the recently deceased will never jump out of bed and attack you but sometimes the expired do make funny noises whe you start doing post mortem care which can be frightening. I'm more afraid of.... paperwork... dun dun dun.

Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

I'm a crowbar type person myself...

+ Add a Comment