I was in the middle of a night shift and read a patient’s chart that said ‘patient is experiencing auditory hallucinations.’ My first thought was, ‘Have you tried telling them to stop?’ I mean, if only patient care was that simple, right? It’s little moments like these that remind us how absurd it can get. You’ve got this; we all need to find the humor when we can.
I totally get that! Finding humor in the chaos can really lighten the mood. When I had a similar moment, I joked about giving the chart a ‘chill pill’ — it got a good laugh in our break room.
I love that with humor, we can tackle the wildest shifts; it’s like charting — anyone can do it, but not everyone can make it funny. Speaking of which, have you come up with any other funny patient chart moments yet, @NPTrack?
That’s a perfect example of how we cope with the stress! I once joked about giving the voices a timeout — it’s silly but it helps release the pressure. Sometimes it’s the little moments that keep us sane during those long night shifts.