Ahhh crap!

[CrunchyMama]

I did something so stupid yesterday during clinical! If I could kick myself I would! Ok...I had this elderly pt that everytime I rolled her, she would poop (diarrhea). I had so much on my mind with not getting in the med room in time (my prof. had to get the meds for me and bring them to me), cleaning this lady up constantly while dealing with her daughter who was there (sweet but a talker), my classmates and prof. right outside the pts. door pressuring me to hurry up so we can all go on break. I'm sorry, but stopping what I'm doing while I'm in the middle of cleaning her up and get her aid to do it is NOT as important as going on break! Anyway...I finally get done and walk out of the room and left the bed up!!! :smackingf So so so stupid!!! Of course my prof. saw it and asked if it was up and instantly I wanted to bang my head against a wall, lol. That's obviously a big no no and I hope it's not held against me regarding my grade. I only blame myself but I feel if I wasn't being badgered about going on break and to hurry up, I would've done things right. :angryfire Anyway, just wanted to vent!

[RNMeg]

The worst mistake I ever made in clinical was because I was being badgered into it, too. I was shadowing a nurse during our med/surg rotation before we were checked off on subQ's. I guess this nurse thought she was being nice, but she wanted me to give the insulin injection she had drawn up. She handed it to me, and when I said I couldn't, she just kept saying "just give it! just do it!". I felt like I was holding her up and ruining her schedule, so I did it. So many no-no's! I hadn't seen her blood sugar level, her sliding scale, I hadn't drawn up the med..I felt horrible. I immediately confessed to my clinical instructor, and luckily she was nice about it when she saw how bad I felt, and how I knew exactly why it was a no-no. She just told me to be more assertive with the nurse, and all was okay. Dodged a bullet there

[sethmctenn]

How human of you to make that little mistake! Don't be too hard on yourself. If you are that concientious, you should do just fine!

[mshultz]

The bed is supposed to be lowered when the patient is unattended? I am not a healthcare worker, but was an ICU patient in 2003. I would lower the bed when I needed to get out, and then raise it back up after I was back in bed. The nurses never adjusted bed height. I even wished for a digital height display so that I could get it back into the precise position it was in when I was transferred from the ED to the ICU!

As a student, of course, you have to follow instructions. Also, I was alert and oriented, and not a fall risk.

[CrunchyMama, ASN, RN]

Yes, you're suppose to lower it...if the pt falls out of bed, the closer he/she is to the floor, the less damage can be done. In this particular case, this pt. wasn't moving anytime soon. Anyway....it's a safety issue. Thanks all for your input!

[9livesRN, BSN, RN]

I had a guy jump out of the high bed once (he forgot he had no legs) so i rushed to help...

I am glad he was not my pt! phew!