Is there any RN who never made a mistake?

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · May 28, 2006

Hi everybody,
By reading lots of threads on this website I realize how many nurses participate in the various discussions. Thus I wanted to ask question which bothers me a lot here.
Do experienced nurses make mistakes that threaten Pts life? What do they do in those situations? How do you treat RNs who make serious life-threatening mistakes?

First of all, to answer your question: YES, experienced RNs make mistakes. We are human, and therefore imperfect. We may make fewer mistakes than a new grad, simply because we've seen so many things time and time again and because we've learned how to prioritize patient care needs. But any nurse who says she/he has never made an error is either fresh out of school, or a damned liar.

Now onto what I'm hearing as your true concern: What happens to a nurse who makes a life-threatening mistake depends on many, many things: the knowledge level of the nurse, the type of error, whether harm actually came to the patient (meaning they suffered complications such as anaphylaxis or a stroke, required a longer hospital stay or died because of the error), what was going on at the time of the incident.........these are just a few of the things that are looked at when investigating medical errors.

My advice to any nurse involved in a 'sentinel event', which includes, but is not limited to, patient harm resulting from failure to observe the five rights of medication administration, is FIRST to document everything they can possibly remember about the incident, and then to obtain the services of a qualified attorney or certified legal nurse consultant. Even in cases where a patient suffers no permanent damage, or where there are multiple caregivers involved in the error, nurses can find themselves in danger of being sued and/or losing their license; it's ALWAYS worthwhile to see a lawyer when legal action is even a remote possibility.

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 28, 2006

I let management and risk management handle a coworker who makes a life-threatening mistake.

How do I treat an RN who makes a mistake: I feel their pain, I support them and I realize it could have been me. They need my support not judgement.

ICUMish · May 28, 2006

Thank you guys for your input! I do agree with you Tweety about supporting the feelow colleagues instead of judging them.

clemmm78, RN · May 28, 2006

Well, I'm quite experienced and I have made a very serious error. Thankfully, all turned out ok but I never forgot it. I take full responsibility for the error, I know how and why it happened. But I can tell you too that I never, ever made the same mistake again.

ICUMish · May 28, 2006

Well, I'm quite experienced and I have made a very serious error. Thankfully, all turned out ok but I never forgot it. I take full responsibility for the error, I know how and why it happened. But I can tell you too that I never, ever made the same mistake again.

Clemm78,

In my opinion, all people sometimes make mistakes. It is impossible to avoid them. That's why I agreed with Tweety about supporting others. Like you, I always learn from my mistakes. Thanks a lot for your response!

Trauma Columnist · May 28, 2006

I have made mistakes and have just been fortunate that they have not resulted in pt harm. I have worked with a nurse who made an error that caused serious pt harm and we all were stunned and then very very compassionate. We all know this could have been us.

MarySunshine · May 28, 2006

I have certainly made mistakes and I am VERY grateful that no patient has been harmed because of it. I would never judge a fellow nurse for a mistake. We work our butts off in extreme stress and if we do 99% of things right, why should we feel like utter failures for mistakes? Unfortunately, it's so much scarier in our field than in others because lives are at stake.

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 29, 2006

i have made mistakes and have just been fortunate that they have not resulted in pt harm. i have worked with a nurse who made an error that caused serious pt harm and we all were stunned and then very very compassionate. we all know this could have been us.

we've all made mistakes, and anyone who tells you they haven't is a damned liar! serious mistakes? either we've made them or will make them -- what matters is what you do about it afterward. admit it and do your best to fix it. the only thing truly unforgivable is to cover it up.

about 2 years ago, i contributed to a serious mistake made that had a very negative outcome. patient recieved a med on the floor and had a negative consequence of that med; was later transferred to the icu for a different reason and report did not include either the med or the negative reaction. things were so busy it was 3-4 hours before i had a chance to go back through the med list while taking off the icu orders. checked a lab at that time, labs were wayyyyy off and the patient had a negative consequence. very negative. the whole situation could have been avoided with 1) adequate report from the floor to the icu; 2) adequate report from the day icu nurse to me, the night nurse, 3) adequate treatment of the original negative reaction, 4) not grouping this extremely sick patient who was trying to die with a second patient who was extremely needy and demanding and had a rude, agressive and bullying family who consumed wayyyy too much of my nursing time demanding things they didn't need, weren't entitled to and were way low on the priority list 5) a little help from the six staff members who were sitting in the break room (including the charge) talking and laughing or the nurse who was sitting at the nurse's station reading my charting and commenting about how she would handle things better 6) a secretary who could take off orders correctly or 7) a resident who knew what was going on. unfortunately, i'm being blamed for the entire mess by my coworkers, including the 7 who were there, could have helped and didn't.

in short, support your coworkers. you could make the next mistake, and you'd want to be supported rather than blamed!

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 29, 2006

Well, I'm quite experienced and I have made a very serious error. Thankfully, all turned out ok but I never forgot it. I take full responsibility for the error, I know how and why it happened. But I can tell you too that I never, ever made the same mistake again.

That's the important thing about making an erorr. You admit it without reservation and learn and grow from it.

Noahm · May 29, 2006

A similiar thing happened to me Ruby. I feel for you. I have really let it get me down over the past few weeks, and have decided to leave nursing. The patient was fine, but the poor communication and clueless staff who don't document are really scaring the heck out of me.

Something wasn't handed over to me, a doctor made an error, and a nurse on the shift prior to mine knew about the error but never documented it or handed over to me. This led to the patient getting a med she should never have been given. It was a med we would usually see a patient like her on and a usual dose. Luckily it was a slow day and I was pouring over her history and able to catch what was going on and blow the whistle. She became unwell, but is fine now.

This thread is making me feel a little better anyway.

ICUMish · May 30, 2006

From what I read in all posts, everybody mentions how important it is to support another nurse in a difficult situation without blaming. Unfortunately it does not happen in every place...