Dealing with guilt

Hello @RN8903 -

Two things. First, try very hard not to cut corners. Don't let yourself become so pressured that you don't feel like you can do things the right way.

Next, it sounds like you are struggling with your thought processes related to some of these items. If you have concerns that your thoughts or behaviors might not be healthy it would be a good idea to talk to your health care provider about it.

Take care ~

@RN8903 you're a nurse of 9 months. To me it sounds like you may be going through a bit of new grad RN stuff.

I would agree with JKL33 about not cutting corners. I worked in hematology so if I didn't uphold infection control, such as scrubbing hubs, etc., I could have likely killed my patients--can't see those nasty bugs and my patients had zero immunity. I was not willing to take the chance. It was a pain in the behind, for sure, but it eventually became routine.

It sounds like your behaviour bothers you so I would suggest working on not cutting corners. Our work is already stressful enough so to add on another element of mental stress about something you have the power to control can ultimately bring you down emotionally and physically.

To note: Just because some people cut corners doesn't mean you have to. Sure, I may have forgotten to do something in the past--that's human nature--but I never intentionally decided, "Hey, I know my patient is neutropenic and I'm just going to use this flush that I dropped on the floor anyway." (Not that that's what you've done, but you get what I'm saying, I hope?). Another way to think about it is: "If this were my mother, father, sister, uncle, best friend, etc., how would I feel if I knew their nurse were intentionally doing things that could potentially harm them or make them worse?" I know for myself, I would want the best care for my loved one, including scrubbing hubs for secondary IV bags.

I'm sure EVERYONE cuts corners at one point in their life in nursing, whether it was a few times, or daily. I'll probably keep my response in regards to that issue short cuz the idea of "cutting corners" in nursing can definitely get real hot. The perfect person and the perfect nurse will never cut corners. But no one is perfect, ever.

Definitely need to find good coping mechanisms to deal with this guilt/anxiety. I also think it's part of the "new grad blues." Over time I think this guilt will subside. We've all been there.