Scary situation- med error

[LIedrn]

I am a relatively new nurse just about 3 yrs in. I made my first medication error and of course it was w a narcotic- gave the right pt the right dose at the right time and right route. But it was CR instead of IR. I reported it immediately to my supervisor, the pt is fine, no adverse outcome, etc.

Do I stand to lose my license over this? i've tried searching what can cause revocation of your RN license, and so far all I found was DWI and diverting narcotics. I am scared to go back to work. It would be terrible if I lost my job, but devastating if I lost my license.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Take a deep breath. Everyone makes mistakes. Even the crustiest, most experienced, safest nurses out there have made mistakes before.

Your license shouldn't be in danger over this. It sounds like you did exactly the right thing--you reported yourself and ensured that your patient was safe. The guilt will abate with time.

In the meantime, take away two things from this experience:

1. Always check the specifics of the med, especially with narcotics as CR and IR are easily confused.

2. Do you have malpractice insurance? If you don't, you need to invest in some. It runs about $100/year and is the only thing that'll be in your corner if you ever get sued or find yourself in a situation where your employer is going after you.

[RN403, BSN, RN]

SoldierNurse nailed it. We all make mistakes...remember you may be a nurse, but, you are still human at the end of the day. You admitted your mistake, your patient was okay, and you are not any less of a nurse over this. Learn from your mistake, forgive yourself, and keep moving forward. Best wishes.

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

What did you do? Did you crush the CR tablet or did you just give the wrong version, CR vs IR? Either way, you did the right thing to come forth and I would not worry too much about further repercussions, especially if the patient did not suffer much harm. It may actually turn out to be a re-education point with your nurse educator if anything. As for your license, seems to take a lot more than what you did to get it revoked from what I have seen with others' experiences.

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[klone, MSN, RN]

If you're already 3 years in and this is your first med error, I'd say you're doing pretty well. Don't be too hard on yourself. YOU ARE HUMAN. Nobody was hurt.