5 Nursing Horrors During a Full Moon

Forget the ghosts and killer clowns. The real horror story is a night shift during a full moon. People call the full moon effect a myth. It is not. I work days, so I see the crazy start in the afternoon and clean up the wreckage the next morning. Here are five full moon horrors.

1. Sweet turns to crazy.

The tiny sweet lady with dementia becomes Satan's apprentice around 6 p.m. Sundowning is real, and sundowning during a full moon is something else. One second she is offering you a bite of her dinner, the next she is going for your eye with the fork. Even the look in her eyes changes. Get 2 mg IV Ativan stat.

2. Short staffing.

Full moon nights always seem to run short. When a patient crashes, there is no backup, and if backup exists, it shows up after the event is over.

3. People get sicker.

I am not kidding. Patients decline, blood pressures bottom out, temperatures spike, and respiratory function drops. You will be saving more than one life at the same time.

4. The difficult family gets worse.

The nurses' station stops being a refuge. The stalker families find you, and somehow they pile on more complaints and requests. Find a more secure spot.

5. More admissions.

Your hands are already full with crashing patients, and the admissions keep coming. More overdoses, car wrecks, and alcohol withdrawals roll in on a full moon. You will be slammed every single time.

New nurses, take this as a warning and be ready. Everyone else, you already know the drill.