"You made a mistake."

Nurses General Nursing

Published

"You made a mistake." whispered my friend and co worker. I wondered what that could have been. She whispered "the gabapentin, you made an error". I mentally went over the list of medications for this patient-it was short less than 10 but no gabapentin. I racked my brain, I hadn't taken any new orders from the attending. It was hard to concentrate it was so loud. The phone was ringing, customers were lined up at the counter to pick up their doughnut carryouts and there was a delivery guy standing there telling me his truck needed the AC worked on. My task box was overflowing. Call lights everywhere. Standing there with a piggyback in my hand spinning in a circle.

The cat jumped up on the bed and then I woke up in a cold sweat. Two years off the floor and I still have anxiety dreams :banghead:

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I actually thought I was the only basket case who has that dream...repeatedly.

No, that is my most frequent recurrent dream and figured prominently on a similar thread a few years back. Since neglecting a patient for a whole shift is a pretty rare occurrence, why is it such a ubiquitous dream among us? Anyone have any theories or research?

We could be dreaming about coming to work naked, or making a terrible error and killing someone, so why is it about the neglected patient? Where does that come from?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
We could be dreaming about coming to work naked, or making a terrible error and killing someone, so why is it about the neglected patient? Where does that come from?

Two words: unsafe staffing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics.

I hallucinated call lights going off just before going to sleep. It was supposed to sound like a soft, relatively pleasant "ding" to distinguish them from respiratory/rapid response/code alarms, but they went off so often that I began to dread them.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER.

Almost 3 years off bedside... when things got bad at desk job, I thought about going back to ER. I had a dream that night, taking care of an elderly lady who walked into the ER fine, and when time to d/c, she complained that she can't walk and needs to be wheeled out of ER. I woke up sweaty and yelling pissed, then thought about the idea of going back to ER.... then said "yeah, screw that," and went back to bed.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I was expecting a comic for this one Davey!

I still have the dream where I forget that I had a patient, and I don't check on them all night.

Gosh, it's so funny how SO many of us have that same dream. I think it shows the anxiety we have about having too many patients with too much on our plates.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
How about the dream where I am giving report at the end of my shift and I suddenly discover that I was assigned a patient but didn't realize until now, and have not even laid eyes on them?......

I have this dream all the time!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Check out the other threads here on AN about nursing nightmares. We have much company!

I have been away from the bedside for several years, as well as my BFF. We both conjure up DOOZY nursing nightmares all the time.

Sleep well my friend. Wishing you better dreams.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
How about the dream where I am giving report at the end of my shift and I suddenly discover that I was assigned a patient but didn't realize until now, and have not even laid eyes on them? Or the hallway I am working that doesn't have an end, just door after door going into infinity.......

That's a classic nursing nightmare. My real nightmare is...they never end.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

When I was first trained as charge I had a dream that I forgot to assign a nurse for one patient, and then that patient died. After that dream, I triple checked the assignment rosters every morning!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.
How about the dream where I am giving report at the end of my shift and I suddenly discover that I was assigned a patient but didn't realize until now, and have not even laid eyes on them? Or the hallway I am working that doesn't have an end, just door after door going into infinity.......

You make me feel a bit more normal...not much, but a bit....as this is a recurring dream, the patient I didn't know I had, and a med/surg patient, no less! (Perinatal nursing nurse, here!)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.
Haven't worked NICU in a while, yet it's still always the dream that I'm giving report and discover there was a third baby in my assignment I never fed or laid eyes on all night...

Yep. Me too.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]27701[/ATTACH]

I actually thought I was the only basket case who has that dream...repeatedly.

Oh no. Belinda has that dream all the time!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment