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Discussion

Drug error

Hi all,

Am a recently qualified nurse working with a nursing agency at the moment. This isn't an ideal work situation for me as I'd prefer to get some experience in a hospital and have the peer support of being part of a team but beggars can't be choosers and there aren't currently jobs available in my area. I've been doing mainly night shifts in a LTC facility and finding it challenging but interesting as there is a varied caseload. I made not one, not two but three drug errors (all omissions) the other night at work. I was traumatised by it but followed due protocol and reported it to my agency and did the necessary in terms of paperwork. I thought about it and figured out what I needed to do to make sure it never happened again.

So last night I was working again and was so careful I thought, double checking the meds and then again just to be sure. Imagine my horror when I got a call from the day staff telling me that they'd found a drug error, omission again, and an anti-seizure med at that. Thankfully all the clients are fine and that's the most important thing. I feel shell shocked, can't stop crying, trying to compose myself to go in and fill out the incident forms and take a look at the prescription to see how the hell I was so dumb as to miss due meds. Also have to go and talk to agency boss about it.

After the first incidents I decided that I have to try to get more shifts on days in hospital settings so that I'll have staff nurses to refer to and double check if necessary, and really put an effort into trying to get a more permenant job so that I can have a mentor set-up and develop myself professionally. Now I do need to work, and shifts are scarce even with the agency let alone permanent jobs wise. Now I feel that I'm likely to get a poor reference making it harder to get a job anyway and that my confidence is so dented that I'll be useless even if I do go and do some shifts somewhere else. I'm just so mad at myself that I didn't look after the people in my care properly. I don't know why I'm putting this here, maybe trying to see if anyone else newly qualified is finding the adjustment from having a mentor to being on your own tough or to see how people cope with screwing up when they are qualified.

Thanks in advance for reading this, it's a long one!

Badole

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Everyone makes mistakes. If you're making the same mistake repeatedly, you need to figure out why you're missing things. Sounds like you have thought it out and know what you need to do. good luck, and don't beat yourself up about it.

Badole - I know exactly how you're feeling. I couldn't get a hospital job when I first started looking so I took a night-shift LTC position and it has since morphed into a mix of days/nights/on-call constantly. This past weekend I worked 36 hours because of course, it was the last weekend of the month and the MARS weren't done for Feb. The MARS are a complete mess; yellow-ed out everywhere, scrawls for new orders, etc - everything on every page.

Long story short, I made 2 med errors - on narcs - 1 omission, 1 incorrect dose. This was after a narc omission 2 weeks ago. You just are under so much pressure to go fast. There is so much stress. I can barely get the meds done for my shift let alone assess them, chart, etc etc etc. The paperwork is absurd. For a simple skin tear, you have to do 2 huge assessments in their new computer system, 3 forms, call the doc, call the family - it takes me forever. And then, invariably, I forget something. They say they have checklists for this stuff, but they're not kept up to date. I hate Monday mornings now because my unit mgr will be calling me with something.

Anyway, I have an interview Wed with a hospital 2 hrs away - if they offer me a position, I'm taking it.

  • Author

Thanks guys, it's an awful place to be in but I need to learn from it and prevent it from happening again, thank god the clients were all ok. Logcabinmom, if you got that job is it feasible for you to move closer to it? Commuting like that when you work the shifts we do could result in you either having an accident or being tired at work (have had to do the long commute thing as well). I hear you about the messy write-ups for prescriptions! Felt like such a fool, they are really, really confusing to follow. I'm going to take a step back and stop doing all nights I think. Thanks again to both of you.

Moving is always a possibility... altho with the housing market the way it is .... thanks for your concern.

  • Author

Hey there just letting you know the outcome so far, I contacted the agency and the LTC has requested that I don't work there again. I had really enjoyed the 6 months there so am upset but can't say I'm surprised or that I blame them. Will take a week off (no choice really, there aren't many shifts going!) try to stay positive and get myself in the right frame of mind to get back to work. I've always heard that the first year post registration is the toughest, never foresaw this mess though :crying2:

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