We all have had them - Funny and sometimes scary nursing related dreams. I had one today.
I was at work witha terrible assignment....40 Tele patients by myself.....As I went room to room assessing my patients and passing meds....An elephant (yes an elephant) with Cher on top of it comes crashing down the hallway. Cher says to me, "I need antibiotics for MRSA....I usually drive but this elephant comes in handy to speed things along." Then as if this dream is not funny enough, My patients begin to gather around me, the elephant and Cher in the hallway in a circular formation and begin to sing "If I Could Turn Back Time".
Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
I start nursing school in January but I'm already having dreams (usually nightmares) about nursing.
In one dream, I woke up my boyfriend by sitting straight up in bed (he was watching TV), I turned and looked at him and frantically said, "You do not have that light in the right position. You have to turn it so the doctor can see what he's doing during surgery".
The other dream I had, just the other night was that I picked out two sets of scrubs that my school requires. Everyone from my class was there at the exact same time and there was a long line. I stood in this huge line to pay for my scrubs and when I finally got to the counter, my debit card wouldn't work and I got kicked out of school for not being able to pay for my scrubs. I also remember trying to talk to people in my class and they all stood like robots or Stepford Wives. That was weird too.
I can't wait to start the actual program. I'm sure more dreams are to come!
Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
Did you ever dream you were working without any clothing on? I dreamed I was naked when I was in nursing school, and our nursing instructor didn't think anything about it. We were sitting at a conference table talking about our clinical experiences during that shift. I was totally embarassed.
I had a dream the other night that all the residents on the floor I usually work on in my LTC facility were traveling on a train (to where, I don't know) and I was the only nurse on board and was responsible for caring for all 50 of them 24/7! And they all had PICC lines and IV meds.
I had a dream the other night that all the residents on the floor I usually work on in my LTC facility were traveling on a train (to where, I don't know) and I was the only nurse on board and was responsible for caring for all 50 of them 24/7! And they all had PICC lines and IV meds.
I've had that terrible dream where I realize it's the end of my shift, and I've totally forgotten about one patient. Then I'm afraid to go in his room because he's probably dead now, due to my neglect.
I've mostly worked in ICU, but I've also worked in home health and there was a time when I did both. This has led to a recurring dream where I'm in home health again, but all 18 patients are really sick ICU patients. So I drive frantically all over town, titrating drips and suctioning people's ET tubes and worrying about what would happen if my trached patients popped off their vents while I'm gone.
Several times, I've mistaken my alarm clock for a ventilator alarm.
About a month or so ago, I had a needy pt who was on an amiodorone gtt and whose SBP kept going low. That day when I went to bed, I had a beautiful dream that I came in and she was discharged -- never done that before. Came in the next night and I had the night from hell -- b/c of her (charge nurse thinks that the pt was playing me that night and said that the pt is known to try and pit one healthcare giver against another. grrrr). And I woke up so happy too when I thought she went home, lol. Ah well.
The other day I fell asleep at like 5pm on accident and around 8, my boyfriend walked into the room to use the bathroom. Well, I must have been dreaming about work because I woke up and in a half-dream state honestly thought to myself, "He really needs to get out of there and check a gas (abg)." It was funny because it was like I was offended that he was wasn't checking my abg lol. Apparently, he is RT now
I recently had a dream where I was putting a patient into a body bag. As I was zipping it up (the part of post-mortem care I always find kind of creepy) I felt someone touch my arm.
Of coorifice I immediately wake up rather freaked out to find my cat sitting next to me reaching out pawing at my arm trying to wake me up so I can pet her.
I had a dream once where I heard an IV pump beeping but could not find it. I walked up and down the hall for eternity looking for the pump, only to realize it was my alarm clock, and it was time to get up.
Last night I had a dream that I took a second job waiting tables part time at the resturant I used to wait tables at before I was in nursing school. When I reported for my first day, I was very surprised when one of the residents from the nursing home I work at also waited tables there . Another server told me "She's a little forgetful, but she does a good job and all the customers love her" No one seemed to know that she had dementia and lived in a nursing home.
Three dreams come to mind, all from my first few months as a nurse.
1. I must have been dreaming about work (I don't actually remember the dream), because I woke up extremely concerned about a pt's blood glucose. I apparently shook my husband awake and demanded to know if he had checked the glucose like I requested. After a few seconds, I "came to" and realized what I was saying. My husband just rolled his eyes and went back to sleep. He's such a good sport!
2. I had a dream about four months after I graduated from nursing school (and had been working as an RN for, well, four months) that I had forgotten to turn in a huge paper and I wasn't going to graduate. I actually woke up in a cold sweat, heart pounding, and it took me a few moments to realize that a) I had already graduated, b) I had been working as an RN for several months already, and c) I had, in fact, worked the night before and I should really get back to sleep since I was scheduled to work that evening, as well.
3. This dream stemmed from a comical conversation I had with a brand new resident when I was a brand new RN. I had to call him for orders on a pt toward the beginning of my (NOC) shift, and he wound up stopping by the floor so we chatted in person for a few minutes. He was a really personable fellow and we had a nice chat. Fast forward 11 hours to near the end of my shift, when I had to call him again regarding a pt. He was close by so he just came to my unit. After we got the pt straightened out (I don't remember the details) he asked me with a completely innocent, straight face, "So did it finally settle down enough last night to where you could get some sleep?" It was at that moment I realized that MDs sometimes (or most of the time) have little idea of what we do!
Anyway, a few days after this conversation, I had a dream that I came to work very tired, so after my 2000 assessments, I decided to take a "quick nap". I, of course, didn't wake up until 0600 and realized, with horror, that all 5 of my post-open heart patients had been unattended for 10 hours. That was a seriously scary dream!
Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Hospice,IV Therapy.
One time a long time ago I was in charge on 3-11 on a very busy telemetry unit, constant noise from the monitor alarms, vent alarms, etc. I went home and fell into a dead sleep. At 4am I woke up because I had to go to the bathroom but laid there for about 20 minutes waiting for someone to come and watch the monitors in my bedroom for me so I could go to the bathroom. I finally realized that I was dreaming about the monitors.
. Another server told me "She's a little forgetful, but she does a good job and all the customers love her" No one seemed to know that she had dementia and lived in a nursing home.
FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I
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