Today I screwed up...

Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN · Feb 13, 2013

Try not to be too hard on yourself (easier said then done, I know.) Everyone makes multiple mistakes, especially in school. Just take it one day at a time!

Sun0408, ASN, RN · Feb 13, 2013

Several lessons learned today.. Pt safety is number one.. Always make sure the bed is locked in all your rooms, make this a part of your safety sweep. Number two... anyone that is unstable, uses a cane, walker etc, make sure they are where they need to be before you leave them. Falls are huge in the elderly. Thankfully your pt was fine. I hope things go well for you.

Live and learn

Kimynurse · Feb 13, 2013

Sorry for your bad day

Always remember

WISER

Wash hands

Identify pr/ introduce self

Scream for privacy

Explain what your going to do

Raise bed/make sure bed locked

Kimynurse · Feb 13, 2013

Screen

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Feb 13, 2013

Long story short, today was my first day of second semester clinical (flu shot issues). My rotation is in an LTC facility and the patient I had used a rotater walker. Well, a classmate told us an instructor was doing a lesson (which wasn't true), so I finished my perri care and allowed my client to walk to her chair. She was at the foot of the bed, so I figured she was fine and went to go see what was going on. Well, little did I know, night shift had unlocked the wheels on her bed. Not even 15 seconds down the hall, she lost her footing, tried to settle herself on the bed, slipped, and fell. Thankfully she didn't hit her head, and wasn't hurt at all.
I feel so horrible though.

Now the transferrable skill you have just acquired is that you will always check the brakes on every wheeled piece of equipment in use. This goes for wheelchairs, walkers, beds, and anything else that a patient might possibly move without your being there to watch.

Stephalump · Feb 13, 2013

Screen

I liked the visual of screaming for privacy.

MadeNew · Feb 14, 2013

I am sorry that this happened to your client, and of course it sucks to be you at that moment. As I was reading your post and got to the point where you said " I finished my perri care and allowed my client to walk to her chair." :nailbiting: I totally saw her rolling onto the ground before I read anything else you posted. It's a blessings that she didn't get hurt. And probably one of the safest accidents in a learning experience you will have as you continue in school. I say that because, now since you've been the victim of an OOPs, you will be on high alert all the time, and checking for safety dealing with everything. I know it feels like a black stain on your record, but try to imagine it a little differently. Clearly, you were predestined to be the student nurse caring for that specific patient, at that specific time. From the first day you sat in nursing school, this event was already assigned to happen to you. Why? #1 Because you can handle the backlash from the incident ( what doesn't kill you makes you stronger-shout out to KeLLY Clarkston), which is going to make you a stronger student. #2 The universes assessment to see how you choose to respond to what happened. I say the universe because not everyone believes in God but usually they believe is something. However I do! Have you chosen the best response? So far I see you calling yourself , STUPID. We both know that's not the case. So let's use embarrassed. And it's o.k that you are embarrassed, you should be, it's a normal human feeling when something like this happens. It was a mistake in your judgement that had minor consequences. We both know that it could have had huge Major consequences. I see that as a student, just like you, we get excited when we are in the clinical setting. We have our nursing uniforms on with the nice school patch on the arm of our scrubs or wherever, the patients and Nurses see that we are in the building and ready to work. And we take pride in what we are doing, but sometimes that 15 seconds creeps around where we have a moment of complacency and BOOM, that's it. But guess what? Your patient is unscathed, you lived through this event, and you didn't kill anybody or get kicked out of the program. You are not a victim of this incident, you are a survivor of possibly one of the worst clinical days this semester. Don't accept this as a black stain on your record. No it can not be erased out of the minds of your instructors, and yeah you have a cloudy past with them. But everything you do thats correct from this point forward can rebuild what you seem to think is fractured. And mistakes happen, do your best to be conscious of your surroundings so they will come far and few in between. Keep your head up, nursing school is not a cake walk or for the faint of heart. It's Hard. I have ten weeks left myself, I know. And as far as your instructors go, they take what we do as students and see it as a reflection of themselves, because they are teaching us. So of course they get ****** when we mess up. However at the end of the day I doubt that they are harboring personal feelings of hatred towards you. They want you to succeed. Trust and believe if they were gunning for you, you would be long gone. So strap your big girl pants back on, and go to clinicals next time ready to experience yet another day of being a student nurse. GOOD LUCK

Ackeem, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Feb 14, 2013

sorry that happen to your patient, next time be more alert and observant everybody screws up at some point in clinicals, after all it is a learning experience.

Certifiable, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2013

Everyone screws up... My big mistake was throwing my smock in the regular rubbish and not the "contaminated" one--- and it was the cleaner who told me off! but, I learned from it--- and my respect for that specific cleaner was enhanced (i actually paid her a compliment the week earlier on being the most thorough cleaner i've ever seen on a ward.... which she seemed genuinely touched to hear).

Certifiable, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2013

Everyone screws up... My big mistake was throwing my smock in the regular rubbish and not the "contaminated" one--- and it was the cleaner who told me off! but, I learned from it--- and my respect for that specific cleaner was enhanced (i actually paid her a compliment the week earlier on being the most thorough cleaner i've ever seen on a ward.... which she seemed genuinely touched to hear).

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Feb 14, 2013

Ha! As a student, I once administered Sedatives to > 30 patients on an ortho ward -- at 9 AM!!! (didn't realize the significance of the green ink on the MAR - oldtimers will get this). I do recall that my instructor had to take a couple of days off afterward. Filling out that many med errors took hours. Probably the only reason I wasn't booted or at least suspended ... the chief resident came to my defense and said that they hadn't had such a relaxing day in a long time... maybe they should give sedatives in the morning at least once a week. And I not only survived, but probably became the most careful med-giver in my entire class.

I know it was a horrible experience for you - but someday, you will be sharing it with another newbie to help him put things in perspective also. We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them. That's how you become an expert.