What has been your worst nightmare about work?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in OB, Med/Surg, Ortho, ICU.

Hello everyone! I ran a search and did not find a thread about this. This is meant for fun or catharsis, whichever you prefer. What was your worst dream ever pertaining to work? My worst dreams usually show me very pleased with myself at the end of a shift for staying on top of my work, only to find that I haven't assessed anyone or passed any meds all day! The docs are asking for info I don't have because of my mistake. Talk about anxiety! What's yours?

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Specializes in L & D; Postpartum.

I am not a fan of computer charting and after 35 years of nursing, my worst fear or nightmare is of not (being able to) make the stupid computer happy. I have never worried about hurting a patient, but computer charting has become more of a priority than patient care in some ways.......and that is just wrong.

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry.

I still remember this one. We had a patient who was not only a gang banger, but apparently had some kind of leadership role in the organization. People were coming and going all hours, and we were scared to death that other, um, organizations would seek to thin out the competition by killing the patient. We were all seriously afraid of what might happen with the guy on the floor, and his room was right by the nurse's station. To clump the targets, I guess...

Our unit was shaped like a "T" with the nurses station where the "T" came together. I had a nightmare that I was at the far end of the long part of the "T" when I heard gunfire. I dreamed running toward the nurse's station, seeing my friends and coworkers shot and slipping and sliding in their blood, falling and trying to get to my feet in the blood, and looking up to see a bad guy coming out of the patient's room, reloading, and walking toward me in that slow "monster's coming to get me" walk.

I woke up, and I was so upset I had to call work and make sure they were all okay. They thought I'd lost my mind.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

My worst nightmare about work was when I forgot to take v/s on all of my pts the whole shift and one of them wound up dying from my mistake. Talk about scary. I woke up in a cold sweat!

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Specializes in wound care.

wow pretty intense stuff!! my fear is giving some one a new drug and having them have some terrible allergic reaction there throat closing , and they stop breathing, there a dnr so i basically just killed some body

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Specializes in OB.

Spent one whole day asleep dreaming that I was running from room to room adjusting malfunctioning IV pumps. I awoke to find road work out front. Apparently the backup "beep" on the dump truck was the same tone as our IV pumps!

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

Worst nightmare? Killing someone. Can't get much scarier than that.

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I have had a lot of health problems over the years, and I have had dreams where I have had to go to work pulling my IV pole along side me. So I am taking a full load of pts in between getting my own meds and treatments.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

My most recurrent nightmare is getting to the end of my shift and realising there is one patient I have never even seen and don't know if he is even still alive. I tell myself "Gosh, I've dreamt this so many times and now I've gone and done it." I'm always fully convinced that this time I'm not dreaming and really have neglected a patient. You can't imagine my relief when I finally wake up.

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Specializes in NICU.

The day before I was supposed to start orienting in level III NICU, I had a dream that I was taking care of twins that were in the same isolette (we don't do that) and one of them in on a vent. While I am assessing them, the vented baby starts crying and I realize I extubated him.

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Specializes in Trauma, MICU.

After a loooong night shift, I spend the day dreaming about work. I wake up to find that I was just dreaming, then I realize I still have to go and work another shift! Nothin like working 36 hours in a row!!! :)

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
The day before I was supposed to start orienting in level III NICU, I had a dream that I was taking care of twins that were in the same isolette (we don't do that) and one of them in on a vent. While I am assessing them, the vented baby starts crying and I realize I extubated him.

I am not a NICU nurse, and I don't even work with vented patients, but that freaked me out, dear Heavens! I hope you were able to go back to sleep after that one!

I once dreamed that a patient decannulated himself. I went into work that night...and he HAD!

But the worst was when I dreamed that a mysterious visitor murdered a patient sitting in the hallway in a Geri chair...and no one else cared but me. Then, I came to realize that the killer was one of our best surgeons! He is awesome, very nice and polite, a great doctor...but I still kind of see him, you know, a certain way!

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