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Discussion

Error and Attitude

There was a new doctor's order for one of our patient which was to incorporate BNC or benutrex c. I was not able to read the doctor's order and was not assigned to do the medication. The nurse assigned to it, prepared the medication and asked me to give it to the patient without any instruction, she just said give it to the patient. I was looking for the medication card and she said there's none for such order. So without hesitation, I gave the medication but I gave it via IV push. The patient reacted when the medication hit her vein because she said it hurt a little so when I returned to the nurse station, I told my head nurse, "The patient got hurt a little when I gave the meds" so she asked why. I said "I IV pushed the meds" and it all started there.

My headnurse called up the Supervisor to report the incident. hen I was so nervous that something bad might happen to the patient since I gave it incorrectly. So what I did was to monitor her every 15 minutes to make sure nothing bad happened to the patient and even checked if she's developing allergies although it was given after negative skin test reading. I got so worried during the entire shift and I asked myself, why did I do that...I promised myself to never ever give medication that I did not prepare. I took accountability for that mistake and even volunteered that I will make an incident report.

The hospital that I work with is a small tertiary hospital with only a few employees, so rumor spreaded so fast that this new nurse made an error. I was not aware that there was a young nurse who's working in the hospital longer than me, who were irritated the way I speak...in short, she dislikes me because I'm too feminine and she even quoted me as their "favorite" in their unit, in a sarcastic way. I was thinking, what made her to dislike me since I was not able to work with her during shifts. She was in night shift and I was in the morning shift. She does not know how I do my work and on how I treat other people..She does not know me so well for them to judge me. She said negative things about me, she even gave me a name "BNC". She even told new nurses about my error with my name in the story then they made fun of it, making me an like a stupid nurse. I've been hearing those things, it hurts, it lowered my self-esteem and even felt so demoralized but I let things roll off my back.

Just a few weeks ago (I've been working in the hospital for almost a year now) I heard negative things from her again, she wanted to hit me in the face because she got irritated the way I look at her. I said to myself, I don't do anything bad to her, she does not even know me and i don't deserve what she's doing to me, I have to stand up for myself. I've been keeping my patience for months and this time she went overboard. I went to their nurse station and confronted her, I can say I made a scene out there. It was not my intention, but this nurse told me that I was rude so the conversation ended up with loud voices.

After the incident, this nurse that I confronted talked to our Supervisor about it, I voluntarily made my incident report to explain my side about it, why I got mad. We ended up having a resolution with our Nursing Service Director. I told her everything, the nurse I confronted had the guts to deny it, she even told the director that she does not know why I was angry at her. But when I voiced out what's inside me, she was caught because she told the Director that she was not the only one laughing but everybody. The director told her that medication error is not a laughing matter but a delicate issue because it can be fatal. In front of the Director, we reconciled but I know outside the director's office I know, hatred was in her heart. Confronting that nurse is something that I am not proud of but I really have to stand up for myself. I may be tagged that I have temper but if I did nothing it will haunt me. I should have done that in a professional manner.

Lesson learned: If someone committed an error, it does not mean that for the rest of her life she will make mistake. It's the way of learning. Do not judge the person based on first impression. You don't have to like the person personally for you to be able to get along with at work. There is an overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will be to treat others with respect,

kindness, and generosity.

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    There is not a nurse working today that has not made a medication error. It is like a "right of passage" for nurses. The problem with your co-worker sounds more like jealouscy. You stood up and admitted your mistake. She probably blames her mistakes on others. Do not be afraid to be honest, it is the only way to survive. Her problem is fear and insecurity. When she is attacking you, she does not have to look at herself. You, my dear, are one of the good ones--we need more like you in this profession. All I see is arrogance and back stabbing in younger nurses. You are not one of them, congratulations on being a real nurse!

    :yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah:

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    The way you were treated is incredibly unprofessional! Can the other nurse honestly say she never made a mistake? I am still a nursing student, but our procedure requires that we take the MAR with us when we give meds, to confirm the doctor's order and the patient's identity. I'm glad you're learning to stand up for yourself. You'll get better at that, too.

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    Have you made a suggestion to correct the system? I believe your error was caused by a system's failure not poor nursing care. That would truly make a negative a positive.

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    Thats awful...sounds to me like this other nurse has a bad vibe..if she treated you that way without even knowing you I wonder how shes treated her patients???...esp when she thought no one was around or within earshot? When I work with a new nurse..I try to give the benefit of the doubt until I see otherwise....we just got a new one who is .....terrible. Ive posted about it on the LPN forum "nasty nurses mouth and attitude" if you want to check that one out...she is a real piece of work....uses the f word nonstop, rude...obnoxious...etc. ......but anyhow...maybe aside from being 2 faced....this other one sounds insecure about something......karma will get her back for what shes done. Her med error might be the one that kills someone.......then what would people say???? She needs to think about that .

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    hi sasha2lady! actually this nurse has endless incident report in our director's file. patient's relatives usually complaint about her attitude. the hospital has a survey to the patients and relatives during discharge, she's always quoted there. and also, two of her IRs were about being rude to our residents on duty. i will read your article. thanks for your feedback and for sharing your article.

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    There is not a nurse working today that has not made a medication error. It is like a "right of passage" for nurses. The problem with your co-worker sounds more like jealouscy. You stood up and admitted your mistake. She probably blames her mistakes on others. Do not be afraid to be honest, it is the only way to survive. Her problem is fear and insecurity. When she is attacking you, she does not have to look at herself. You, my dear, are one of the good ones--we need more like you in this profession. All I see is arrogance and back stabbing in younger nurses. You are not one of them, congratulations on being a real nurse!

    Well, it is not a "right" of passage, although it might be a "rite" of passage.

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    Thank you for this post. Hopefully all who read this learn from it. It is pathetic to pick on other nurses. You do not have to be everyone's friend outside of work but if you attack them personally or gossip, please realize this is cruel, vindictive and shows that you are insecure. If only we could all show the same compassion and respect to our fellow nurses as we do our patients.

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    The Massachusetts DPH in conjunction with UMASS Med school is putting out a survey to nurses in long term care about medication errors. The way the system is in most places nurses are reluctant to report an error for fear of some sort of punishment by management or ridicule by co-workers. We shouldn't punish nurses who make or report errors. As one of the previous posters mentioned, many times it is a systems problem.

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    I was just thinking the same thing! I am a traveler and one hospital I worked at had a manager just like that. It makes it so hard to work with "problem nurses" and there are many. More now than say 20 years ago. And when you have a "problem manager" it makes it worse.

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    I think I have to blame management for this one. Either the manager is completely unaware of what nurses are talking about and saying about each other, or he/she knows and is allowing it. I think when one bad employee (i.e., an employee that spreads negativity and hatred towards another) is allowed to gossip and slander, other employees see it and take it for granted that this is accepted behavior. A similar thing happened in my last job, a few night shift nurses did nothing but talk about other nurses, and the whole place was mired in negativity.

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    Professionals at work; nursing for ya! Can't say I've seen a man at work or a doc who wanted to punch me in the face because I was too masculine.

    It's too catty a job to be able to self report. It's best to lie and cover up, then isn't it? :argue:

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    Thanks for the lesson. I will keep that in mind. Also, it seems to me like you are buying into that nurses childish games. I can tell that you are sensitive and care about what others say about you. It's hard for most of us to ignore negative criticisms, but you have to learn how to have a tougher skin. People will ALWAYS say negative things about you. The important part is how you handle it.

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