errors

[jennie kissinger]

Hey can anybody relate to making a med error? and can anyone help in getting over the hump of the mistake so they are not so nervous and feel incompetent?

[leslie :-D]

absolutely!

i would say that 99% of nurses have, or will, make a med error during their careers.

depending on the severity of the error, it is often devastating and always humbling.

and while i believe the majority of errors are systemic or, r/t feeling overwhelmingly stressed/rushed, these errors will almost always result in we nurses, ensuring that these mistakes will never, ever happen again.

so yes, i for one, truly understand how you feel.

and i am just as confident, you will never let this happen again.:hug:

leslie

[jennie kissinger]

thanks for the reasurance I basically feel like crud, exspecally just starting out and needing to make a good impression on my abilities.

[leslie :-D]

thanks for the reasurance I basically feel like crud, exspecally just starting out and needing to make a good impression on my abilities.

it's very healthy that you feel so badly.

i'd truly worry if anyone just shrugged it off.

keep in mind, accountability for one's actions, is also a positive indicator of your nsg abilities as well.

leslie

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

ITA with the above. It does eat at you. BTDT. Take it and learn from it. I worked with a nurse that once said she had never made a Med error in 30 years of nursing. I didn't buy that for a second.

[Scrubby]

I remember making my first drug error. I filed a different patients med chart in the wrong patients notes. I gave them a drug that they weren't ordered. I remember discovering my error and I just felt sick to my stomach that I did the wrong thing. The nurse in charge was really supportive, we discussed the incident and I reflected that my practice was starting to become too task orientated, rather than thinking about what I was doing. It was in my first year as an RN and I was at that dangerous stage where I was feeling a bit too confident.

Don't beat yourself up about this. At the end of the day we're only human.

[SpringerCab]

Ask yourself how you can change your practice so hopefully you won't make a mistake. I am always wary of any nurse who has nursed for a long time that says I have never made a med error. My question to them is so you have always given every med on time. If they answer no then I tell them they have made a med error.

[jennie kissinger]

thanks for everyones encouragement, it onward and upward from here. I have learned from this experience and i think Ill be a better understanding and caring RN for it. thanks everyone:)

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Take responsibility for your role in the mistake, and learn from it so you can avoid making it again. And yes, it's normal to feel incompetent for a little while afterwards...ask me how I know :)