Stayin' Awake

By Fred King
Technical advisor: Eleanor Truex BSN, RN, MLIS

Well, you can tell by the way I move so swift
I'm an ICU nurse and I'm workin' night shift
Doctors loud and patients warm,
I was workin' nights before you were born.

And now it's all right, bed ten's okay
The emesis went the other way
We can try to understand
The finer points of this treatment plan

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Feel the unit shakin', ventilators ventilatin'
You're stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' awake

Well now, the coffee's low but I've got to be spry
No time for a break 'cause the census is high,
Got a lot of tasks sittin' on my plate
Got to drink a lot of water to rehydrate

And now it's all right, bed four's okay
He'll live to see another day
We can try to understand
The finer points of this treatment plan

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Feel the unit shakin', ventilators ventilatin'
You're stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' awake

Bed sixteen's coding, needs chest compressions
Somebody help me, stat
Shortage of epi, no vasopressin
I'm stayin' awake

Well, you can tell by the way I move so swift
I'm an ICU nurse and I'm workin' night shift
Doctors loud and patients warm,
I was workin' nights before you were born

Well it's all right, bed twelve's okay
Her central line comes out today
We can try to understand
The finer points of this treatment plan

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Feel the unit shakin', ventilators ventilatin'
You're stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' awake, stayin' awake
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' awake

Bed eight needs proning, he weighs 350
Somebody help me, stat
She's extubated, so where's the BiPAP?
I'm stayin' awake

The intern passed out, he's still unconscious
Somebody help me, stat
She has an LVAD, nobody told me
I'm stayin' awake

Bed eighteen's line's out, there's blood all over
Somebody help me, stat
Bed six has c diff, no bedpan cover
I'm stayin' awake

IV bag's empty, the patient's screaming
Somebody help me, stat
No time for eating, the family's meeting
I'm stayin' awake


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