That Tuesday I had three patients code on the same shift

I work nights in a busy hospital, and last month I had a shift that still sticks with me. At 1 AM, room 204 crashed, then room 312 at 3:30, and room 118 at 5:15. Three codes in one night is rare, and I barely had time to chart between them. Nobody warned me how much the adrenaline crash hits when you finally sit down. Has anyone else had a shift where everything goes wrong at once?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_stella3d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, I've been there. The best thing you can do is force yourself to take five minutes after the dust settles to write down everything fresh in your head, because your brain will dump it all when the adrenaline fades. Keep a little bag of trail mix or protein bars in your locker too, eating something helps ground you after that kind of night.

the_susan3d ago

Fixing myself a warm drink right after helped clear my head way better.