"You made a mistake."

Nurses General Nursing

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"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 CPN.

Oh man! I still have them too, and I've been off the floor for 4 years!

I always feel like I forgot something. I try to double and triple check, but with all the running around, it get hard when you have 10000 things to do. Especially when they ALL have to be done right NOW

Looking at all the responses to this thread, I feel a little better about having that same dream of the neglected patient. I haven't worked in a hospital for over a decade, but I still have this recurring dream of running all night and finding out I've been assigned a patient that I didn't know I was supposed to have. Naturally the manager who actively harassed me IRL finds out about it just before the end of my shift and rips me a new one right in front of the patient, who happens to be half-dead, and my co-workers. By the time I wake up in a cold sweat, I'm almost as tired as if I'd actually worked that shift. I wonder if I'll ever stop having that dream.[/QUOT

That is a classic nursing nightmare. I also wake up tired from the effort.

I also wonder if these nightmares will stop... I doubt it. (eight years after bedside nursing and still having doozy nightmares). I think these dreams are our attempt to work out PTSD.

It's good to talk them out with a fellow survivor. Sometimes.. we can even get a laugh out of it.

Sweet dreams.

Same here!! I've had that dream so many times... even a few times after changing jobs.

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Looking at all the responses to this thread, I feel a little better about having that same dream of the neglected patient. I haven't worked in a hospital for over a decade, but I still have this recurring dream of running all night and finding out I've been assigned a patient that I didn't know I was supposed to have. Naturally the manager who actively harassed me IRL finds out about it just before the end of my shift and rips me a new one right in front of the patient, who happens to be half-dead, and my co-workers. By the time I wake up in a cold sweat, I'm almost as tired as if I'd actually worked that shift. I wonder if I'll ever stop having that dream.[/QUOT

That is a classic nursing nightmare. I also wake up tired from the effort.

I also wonder if these nightmares will stop... I doubt it. (eight years after bedside nursing and still having doozy nightmares). I think these dreams are our attempt to work out PTSD.

It's good to talk them out with a fellow survivor. Sometimes.. we can even get a laugh out of it.

Sweet dreams.

I've been off the floor for 10 years now and I hardly have those dreams at all anymore. Maybe they just finally stop at some point. We can all hope.

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

Yes, I've also had the dream wherein a patient is forgotten all shift.

My favorite, though? Well, okay, not really...but it certainly stand out!

In my dream, there was a patient sitting in the hall in a geri chair. I was charting, nothing really was going on at all.

Then...a tall, thin man wearing all black appeared and stabbed the patient in the jugular. I ran to get help, but discovered all of the other nurses were on the porch (riiiiight), smoking.

The patient died. And when I woke up, I realized the murderer was a surgeon I knew.

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Yes, I've also had the dream wherein a patient is forgotten all shift.

My favorite, though? Well, okay, not really...but it certainly stand out!

In my dream, there was a patient sitting in the hall in a geri chair. I was charting, nothing really was going on at all.

Then...a tall, thin man wearing all black appeared and stabbed the patient in the jugular. I ran to get help, but discovered all of the other nurses were on the porch (riiiiight), smoking.

The patient died. And when I woke up, I realized the murderer was a surgeon I knew.

This one reminds me of the phone-dialing dreams I used to have. I would need to summon urgent help for some situation but couldn't get the phone to work or couldn't find the number. Thank goodness I haven't had one of those in ages.

This one reminds me of the phone-dialing dreams I used to have. I would need to summon urgent help for some situation but couldn't get the phone to work or couldn't find the number. Thank goodness I haven't had one of those in ages.

OMG! I had what I call "phone dreams" since I was a kid! Since it was decades ago, mine were about the dial had been turned so that the number dialed was the wrong number every time, but as the years went on, it became that the buttons all fell off and I was frantically trying to put them back on. And trying to call the hospital operator and trying to call a code, but she can't hear me. I know, I have issues!

Specializes in Pediatrics.

This thread must be contagious, because just last night I had a dream that it was 1845, just before change of shift, and I look down at my patient roster and not only have I given none of my patients their medications for 12 hours, but there are 3 of the 6 I haven't even laid eyes on!

I literally remember thinking in the dream, "I dearly hope this is a dream, because otherwise my license is gone." And I am never aware that I'm dreaming. Guess the terror cut right through me!

OMG! I had what I call "phone dreams" since I was a kid! Since it was decades ago, mine were about the dial had been turned so that the number dialed was the wrong number every time, but as the years went on, it became that the buttons all fell off and I was frantically trying to put them back on. And trying to call the hospital operator and trying to call a code, but she can't hear me. I know, I have issues!

I have had almost the exact same phone nightmare for years. I wish someone would explain the psychology behind them.

Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
My bad nursing dream has always been the patient that I actually KNEW was assigned to me, but I just...couldn't...get to...all shift, thereby increasing my stress as the dream shift goes on. Shudder.

This is closer to my "nursing dream". Its always a 2 patient PICU assignment, but the sicker patient keeps me so busy all shift that I keep delaying going to assess the more stable one. Until eventually its about 4pm and I realize that I haven't fed or changed the other baby, let alone assessed them or given any medication.

Dream-me is always extremely concerned with anyone finding out about this neglect, so the next part of the dream is spent trying to clean the patient up without anyone realizing (the diaper is full and the sheets are soaking wet) and figuring out how to catch the meds and feeds up enough that nobody will realize what I've done (or not done, as it were.)

Specializes in PICU, Pediatrics, Trauma.
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.......

I've had that dream! oh my God! And I can't find my way back to the unit...SAME damned dream!

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