Did I do something horribly wrong?

[Silverbird501]

I'm in my second semester of nursing school. In my clinical today on the Med Surg floor, I got to hang an IVPB. The nurse already had the main line primed. With my instructor and another classmate and the nurse, I primed the IVPB. We all went to the patients room, and I hung the saline and IVPB. Then I went to connect the main IV line to the patients IV on their hand. I took the cap off the main line and wiped it with an alcohol swab....Well, yes, I made a mistake. Since the IV line port is sterile since it just came out of the packaging and had a cap on it.

But my intructor flipped out! She seemed very upset that I would wipe the sterile end with an alochol swab, she exclaimed to the nurse about, who said we could just get some new tubing, she took me aside and said, "Why did you do that?!" Then later had a discussion with me about my thinking process and why I did what I did. She is holding my end of semester evaluation until tomoorrow, and might take points off for it.

My question is, Did I do something horribly wrong?? I know I shouldn't have wiped the sterile end with an alochol swab, but is it as huge a deal as she is making out? I thought changing the IV tubing was an easy fix and I had determined not to do that again. But I'm thinking I just commited something very horrible.

Can anyone give me any insight?

[RNlvn]

I dont think it was a huge deal unless the patient was immunodeficient or something

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

Well, I'm not your instructor but I don't think you did something so awful. As you said, it was just a careless mistake that was caught. Changing the tubing would have completely rectified the situation. Certainly, she was right to take you aside and talk it through--once.There was no reason for her to humiliate you. Students are just that--learners. They aren't perfect and they tend to make mistakes that a more experienced nurse might not make. That's why we don't let students fly solo, they're not capable in their early days. She could have easily turned this into a teachable moment. Good lord! If she's going to get this bent about a relatively minor error, she need to find another line of work.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Until pretty recently, we always wiped even newly opened, freshly uncapped items with alcohol. We'd get in trouble for not doing it. We'd die a 1000 deaths, fearing we'd infected our patients with incurable infections. Goes to show how evidence-based practice is expanding.

But for your I to flip out sounds really ridiculous. If she tries to lower your grade because of that or tries to make you wear a scarlet A (for alcohol, lol), see the Dean. She was pretty darned disrespectful of you and probably freaked out the patient, too. She sounds like a nut case!

BTW, tubing change does cost time and money, so try not to do this "horrible" error again.

[grandmawrinkle]

That was not cool and uncalled for.

You know, I just don't understand why some educators get into education if they aren't willing to watch students make mistakes and mentor them along. I don't get this punitive attitude. Everyone in education I have known tells me "I just love to teach" -- what does that mean? Does that mean you love it when your student screws up so you get to berate them, or does that mean that you really enjoy helping them develop?

OK, enough ranting.

I guess you made a tiny mistake. It's not that big a deal. It's not like you dipped the end of the IV tubing in a pile of ketchup on the patient's plate and tried to hook it up. You wiped it with ALCOHOL. It was clean! Lesson learned on your part.

There was no reason for the ugliness on your instructors part, but this is nursing school. She will probably not be the first evil clinical instructor you have, and unfortunately, the instructors have all the power. I think some clinical instructors think they are the gateway to the nursing profession, and if they deem you inadequate, they are going to come up with a way to fail you, so watch your back. Be as perfect as you can in the clinical setting and CYA (won't be the first or the last time you get that piece of advice...LOL!) All my nursing instructors were all nuns and it was gosh-awful. All the nitpicking BS for no real reason other than to beat you into submission...consider it a rite of passage.

[systoly]

You're a student. If all students were perfect, the instructor would be out of a job. Furthermore, if wiping a port with alcohol is this bad, why do we ever do it?

[Murse406]

Sounds OK to me. Usually before attaching, I just lick the port. You used alcohol....Potayto/Puhtahto.

Seriously..you'll laugh at this Nursing school crap later.

[Intern67]

My question is, Did I do something horribly wrong?? I know I shouldn't have wiped the sterile end with an alochol swab, but is it as huge a deal as she is making out? I thought changing the IV tubing was an easy fix and I had determined not to do that again. But I'm thinking I just commited something very horrible.

Can anyone give me any insight?

Some instructors get more nervous and high strung than students at clinical. Sometimes it is their superiors filling their heads with thoughts of "If one of your students screws up, YOU will lose your license, your job and we will lose a valuable clinical site!!"

I've noticed that nursing school instructors, especially new ones, may be great nurses, but they aren't so hot at teaching yet. That coupled with the consequences of a misstep weighing heavily on their minds makes them act a little scooters at times.

The best thing you can do is what you appear to be doing here. Admit your mistake, admit the reason why (brainfart), explain what you did wrong, what you would do to correct it and how you will avoid making the same mistake. I would definitely discourage you from trying to negotiate "how bad" or serious a mistake it was with your instructor. She really doesn't want to hear it. If she fails you, you can have that fun discussion with the dean.

How many points you lose depends on how far from the ledge your wigged out instructor has traveled.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Remember that some of these instructors are as kuckoo as kuckoo can be...I had a few of them...wondered why they were allowed to teach...

[kiszi, RN]

you will run into some clinical instructors whose mission in life is to make students as miserable as they can, due to some off the wall thinking that by doing so, they can weed out the weak ones and "toughen up" the rest. Not saying your instructor is like this, she may just be under a lot of stress. No, you didn't make a huge mistake. I've caught myself wanting to swab the open end of the tubing before. Let your CI's minor spazz roll off, learn from it, and try to survive school. There are better things to come.

[Tina, RN]

Ugh, I'm sorry that your instructor stressed you out like that.

If I'm correctly understanding what you did, I don't see why she had such an extreme reaction. So, you wiped the already sterile end with an alcohol swab? Not necessary, but hardly horrible... That's why we go to school and have clinicals- To learn! Keep your head up! :)

[caliotter3]

Remember that some of these instructors are as kuckoo as kuckoo can be...I had a few of them...wondered why they were allowed to teach...

I had one who jumped me when I was pulling something from a drawer in the med cart and caused me to drop it on the floor when she startled me, then she proceeded to go up one side and down the other telling me crap that I wish I could have recorded. She was a psych nurse who definitely had observable mental health issues and was known for her treatment of students. And I haven't said a word about the conversation, from her, when she praised herself over her self-appointed duty to fail students in their final semester. Yes, a nut case. But "teaching" semester after semester, year after year. Hopefully you will survive your version and will live to be able to tell others to avoid her classes at all cost.