Post your daily nightmares here. - Page 2

Were you, by chance, referring to my post? (as I think I'm the only one who has mentioned 4 patients so far...)

Nope, I don't work in the ICU! I work on just your plain ol' med/onco floor, hence why the 4 patient load. Our ICU nurses get just 1-2 patients each.

My nightmare for today:
Not so much craziness and chaos, but one of the worst things in nursing, I think, is to watch a patient suffer. Near the end of the shift, one of the nurses asked for some help. His patient (diagnosis: Lung Ca) was struggling to breathe, O2 sats 70-75% on a non-rebreather. He was going cyanotic, too. I had taken care of him not too long ago so we still remember each other, and I know we're not supposed to have favourites, but he was one of mine. I sat with him, held his hand, got him a cool cloth, and basically talked him through it. He looked at me and asked, "Am I going to die?" I didn't know what to say.