Dx: Brain Death S/P work

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

I am so brain dead when I get home from work! I can barely carry on a conversation with someone because I completely zone out. I come home.. shove food in my mouth.. and stay in a daze until I go to bed... Not only that but when I go to bed I dream about work all night!! This is driving me crazy. I dream i forgot to do something, or a Dr. is yelling at me.. Sometimes I even wake up in the middle of the night thinking I have to go give some meds... I am a new nurse.. will this craziness ever end?

Am I the only one who completely zones out when they get home from work?

And how am I supposed to exercise when I can barely even think? I'm never going to get back in shape if this continues!! :uhoh21:

[wooh, BSN, RN]

At least you're making it home before you go brain dead. You're doing good!

[herecomestrouble]

It will get better,your body will adjust to the work and you will become more confident and better able to turn off once you get home.But there will still be days that you go home too exhausted to move and wake up in the middle of the night thinking about something you should/shouldn't have done.Each time I start at a new facility I go through the dream where it's the end of the shift and I still haven't done anything,I'm trying to give report on pts I haven't even seen...But it will get better.

[Rizpah]

The dreaming does go away after time. I used to dream that I wasn't done passing my 4:00 pm meds yet at 9:00pm and my chronic lunger was having an anxiety attack because I didn't get her nebulizer to her in time. I couldn't leave the med room because I had gone to work in my pajamas and I was afraid I'd get written up for being out of uniform!

Now when I go to bed, I put some kind of brainless tv show in the DVD and set the sleep timer and usually sleep pretty good.

[oldiebutgoodie, RN]

I have a recurrent dream where I have forgotten a patient all day long, and at the end of the day, I look at the assignment board and realize I never knew I had that patient!

Similar to the dreams where you get your report card in college and are given an F for a class you didn't realize you signed up for...

Oldiebutgoodie

[CHATSDALE]

once during a particular rough period of really bad patients and short staff

i could hear beeping ivs, room buzzers and halls i couldn't see the end, and the emergency code lights blinking i would wake up in a cold sweat

not much help in you current position but it does show you hthat it is a common thing and survivable

good luck

[Roy Fokker, BSN, RN]

Somedays I get home and am so brain dead I can't decide if I want to drink OJ, Water or Milk before hitting the sack :uhoh21:

Don't even get me started on dreaded PCA beep waking me up with a cuss and an oath just when I fall asleep!

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

Yep. Pretty standard. One day I woke up and realized that I wasn't getting PAID for all those hours outside of work when my brain was still there. Twelve-plus hours are enough for them to own you! The rest are all yours, baby!