Feel so discouraged.Advice appreciated,need to vent :(

[2bvegannursesFTW]

hey all.

im now a "second year" nursing student, i start back up in august.

i had only been in a hospital 2 times before my clinicals, never worked in healthcare at all...so needless to say in those clinicals i was horribly nervous and awkward.

so i thought this summer i would get a job to acclimate myself to patient care so i could focus more on school when it started back up instead of worrying about moving people the right way or how to wake someone up

well i got hired in at select specialty, an extended acute care facilty where theres tons of vents and trachs, dialysis and wounds abounds. im a nurse extern as of now but i do all aide work. its like learning an entirely different world.

ive made dumb mistakes here and there but yesterday was awful. im so disheartened and it makes me wonder if other people have been this dumb

i dont know why it was so bad, i didnt think my mind was somewhere else but it mustve been.

i put a cup of water in an ntl patients room for one..ugh thank god she didnt drink it

as if that wasnt bad enough, later in the day i had a sweet little lady up in a chair, who happened to be on a dobhoff tube, i had to get her back in bed and someone from respiratory came in to help me. i didnt know that he wasnt used to handling people when he offered, so the transfer was a little unsteady. when we went to put her back in, everything seemed ok, so i left. the nurse found me a few minutes later and demanded to know what was wrong about how i just left the patient, i felt like i just ran into a brick wall..i walked into her room and still didnt really see the problem, until i saw that the tape from the tube was no longer on the little ladies nose, but at about chest level down the tube, we had pulled it out atleast 5-6 inches. i was horrfied, managed to maintain myself in the room but then left and lost it, i cried for a good 5 minutes.

i have never felt so awful....im terrified of hurting someone and being a stupid nurse.

i know i will never make this mistake again...but im horrified thinking about what other mistake i have yet to make...

i feel like i dont deserve to be halfway through a nursing program and do such stupid things ...

*sigh*

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I'm so sorry you had a bad day. I'm a 4th semester ns and I haven't even seen some of the things you mentioned. We learn best by doing. Your learning so much but remember, your learning. Try not to beat yourself up too much. I worked as a PCA in critical care a year before I started ns. I quit to devote my time to my family and studies. I kick myself so often for that. I missed out on so many new learning opps. Don't be so hard on yourself and I bet you'll never ever forget to check all lines and tubes before moving a pt again. Lesson learned, guaranteed. :icon_hug:

[LMRN10]

I'm so sorry you had that happen to you! But I agree with the previous poster...don't beat yourself up. We are learning still. We are putting ourselves in situations we have NEVER been in before and we are learning along the way. Unfortunately we are going to make mistakes along the way. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the nurse could have approaced it in a better way. When I was assisting with a bath on a parkinson's patient, I wasn't paying attention to the feeding tube which went in through his belly button...luckily there was someone standing there saying "watch that line." We learn over time...and yes, those mistakes made will ensure we won't make them again. Hang in there...

[MassED, BSN, RN]

stuff happens - oops. You move on. You learn by mistakes you make. That experience will remind you to pay attention to those small things that can move during transfer. We've all made mistakes that feel like it makes us look silly or foolish. Relax, take a deep breath. You'll be fine.

[happilymarried]

I have yet to begin ns, I start in three weeks. After reading your post, I got to thinking... I think the reason they start us out with less life-threatening duties is because they understand that we will make mistakes. If you follow that line of thought, these fairly minor mistakes are what make us start to check, check, and recheck when we are doing any type of procedure. So after a few mistakes, we become much more aware of what we are doing and how it may or may not impact the pt. I can definatly see that you are concerned about the care you give as a ns, because these "mistakes" have really had a lasting effect on you. I think you are doing exactly what an ns is supposed to do, you are learning by doing. Keep your chin up.

PS-I may be posting very similar posts in the months to come, hopefully you can make me feel better then!:)

[casi, ASN, RN]

You live and you learn.

What you made are fairly simple mistakes. I've seen seasoned nurses have NG tubes slip out when transfering a patient. It's not because they are horrible at what they do, it's just because these things happen. If the patient wasn't in distress how were you supposed to know to check the tube?

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

Yep...everyone makes mistakes...some are simple, some are serious. This will make you a more vigilant nurse, right? You'll ask someone how comfortable they are moving someone...I would genereally go with someone who is more in touch with patient care...i.e. another nurse for help...

Relax. Everyone has those "doh" moments! If someone tells you they NEVER make a mistake...they're lying. That nurse was probably coming to make sure you saw and you learned....sometimes it's tough. You want to give the best possible care...but sometimes mistakes happen...

I've done simple things, and some hard things...and some that patients were at fault for....but each one is a learning expierence. When you look back on it, you see what you learned. Give it a week....then look at the original post and learn again. It takes at least 1 year to be comfortable in a aide role...and another 1 to become comfortable as a nurse...such is life.

[JLKNurse]

Don't be so hard on yourself. We all have to learn from our mistakes. I'm sure if you knew more about some of the things you were exposed to it would have been easier. I have not heard of some of the things you mentioned. Hang in there.

[RB_RN_MSN]

I'm just about to graduate and I haven't seen half that stuff. Nurses learn by doing. Don't beat yourself up.

[love-d-OR]

Oh dear, don't be too hard on yourself. You are only human, and you like myself and many others on this forum WILL make mistakes. If you don't believe me run a search on "mistakes" on this site. You mistakenly pulled a tube. Is it bad? yes. Is someone gonna get hurt from it? No. Will you learn to get adequate help and make sure to watch all lines during transfers next time? I bet you will.

I think your proactive attitute and desire to learn more by working as an extern will pay off in the long run. Don't look at mistakes or mishaps as though they were simple errors, instead look at them as a simple reminder that we all have something to learn. Good luck with nursing school, and take it easy.