Feeling lousy

amzyRN · Aug 28, 2013

What were your mistakes? It depends on what they were. It's okay to slow down on a busy floor if one of your patients starts crashing. In that case charting is done late, but as long as patients stayed safe then it's okay. I'm on a busy cardiac floor too and made some mistakes but nothing too bad. I've tended to let my patients BP go a little lower than it should on vasoactive gtts, but I was also going on patient tolerance to lower BP and with guidance by physician orders. I once had a pt who's SBP was dipping down into the 70s, but he said he felt just fine and the physician was there and told me to continue the amio gtt to get him out of afib (which was also contributing to the low BP). But I had other patients and I didn't feel like I was monitoring him as closely as needed. If I had to do it over again though, I'd probably be a little more cautious and tell my charge nurse I was uncomfortable with my assignment. After every mistake I make I analyze it and find out what went wrong in my thinking and then when it happens again I remember. I write it down too. I always consciously thinking about my priorities still, they haven't all come second nature yet, but I think they will over time.

loveRNlove · Aug 30, 2013

Thanks for the reply! They were mistakes I have learned from and have not repeated. I gave a newly anti-arrhythmic medication at the same time as a previously ordered one. The patient tolerated the original one fine, so I didn't think twice, i did not slow down to think to separate the two since there was a new one added which could affect the BP. The patient's BP dropped lower than I would have liked and required a call to the doc. The patient was fine and the BP came back up without intervention. I surely will never do that again. That happened on the first few weeks i was on my own. Another mistake was not following up and checking a lab after a medication was infusing. I was not require to check it prior to giving it, but should have checked the lab sooner than I did after initiating it. I think i just need to slow down and be i guess even more cautious than i already am. Mistakes happen, but i don't want any harm to ever come to my patients. I surely have learned from them and will not repeat them.

amzyRN · Sep 2, 2013

Your mistakes don't seem that bad. Everyone makes mistakes. I've learned to slow down a bit too, especially when I have an unstable patient. I'd rather be late on charting than harm a patient.

monaa · Sep 3, 2013

Everyone makes mistakes. Dont let it bring you down!

GonnaBSN · Sep 3, 2013

Agreed! We all make mistakes! Just report, document, and learn from it.

pumpkinspice555 · Sep 6, 2013

I'm on the same boat as you. I'm a new nurse, done with orientation in a few weeks. Work is so stressful for me. I made a med error too a few weeks ago, and gave a BP med too soon than I was suppose to. Fortunately, no adverse events happened and the patient was stable! I documented, notified physician immediately, and filled out the appropriate med error paperwork. It just sucks, there's just too much to do, it really is difficult to sometimes stop and really think critically. I am getting better at that, and ever since then, i've been super careful with my medications and time, but it's still so incredibly easy to make mistakes. I try to slow down, but my floor is so busy, sometimes I have to just keep going. Luckily, I am able to ask questions and for help when I need it, so I will ask my preceptor every single time I'm not sure about the timing of a medication or dosage or if I'm not sure how to do a skill. My floor is really helpful. But I don't want to depend on them too much, you know. It's just overwhelming, praying to God to help me get through this!