Best of the web: “Dreams”

One of our goals here at Scrubs Magazine is to publish anecdotes and stories written to us from nurses all over the U.S.  – stories that have touched us and that other nurses will enjoy reading.
Today’s post is from our series “Best of the Web” – recent favorite stories that we’ve come across in the nurse blogosphere.  Enjoy!

Blogger:  RehabRN

Monday, March 30, 2009

“Yes, I’ve been having that conversation with patients a lot lately. Maybe it has something to do with the sleeping pills. Otherwise, it just seems that people are a little more apt to talk about certain things when the sun goes down.

First, one of our guys keeps dreaming he’s not sleeping at night. Yes, every time someone rounds on him, he’s snoring and doesn’t wake to calls of his name, but he swears to the docs that he’s been up all night. Sure, they say Ambien can be a factor in sleepwalking, but for our non-ambulatory folks, I guess it could make the dreams seem as if they’re awake all night. And, as you know, the patient is always right, just like the customer, until proven otherwise.

So what does that mean for us? More charting. Order that reads, “chart all times patient is awake at night.” Nice.

Next, another guy, a fellow Ambien user, who never goes to bed earlier than 0300 anyway, was telling me about his dreams before he was injured: the new Harley that never was, the job offer that disintegrated, the house. He’s working on some new stuff, now, since he’ll be leaving us soon and going back to the area where he grew up. And he’s hoping to make some of his new dreams come true. We’re all excitedly crossing our fingers, since he’s got everything set up for success.

Another guy seemed like he was dreaming, but he wasn’t. He’s going to leave us soon and he was just bawling his eyes out when I went into the room recently. Not because he’s leaving right away, but that he’s an old softie for a spot in one of these old movies they tend to show around Easter on TV. “Every time I see this, it gets me,” he said between sniffles.

Finally, the nursing staff has a few dreams, too. Lots and lots of people are dreaming of vacation as the spring hits and summer is on its way. I’m dreaming of passing my certification and GRE exams before summer, since after that, it will be a long time before I get any more vacation. However, I do believe that we need to dream. It keeps you going.

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. Anatole France

And so I go…to work again. More later…”

You can find the original post and read more from Rehab RN by visiting her blog.  If you’d like to share your story, please write to us at he***@me*********.com.  We’d love to hear from you!