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Discussion

feeling stupid..... :(

Ok so Im in my last round of clinicals for my lpn degree(im done on Tuesday). Well since Im a student I cant pull meds out of this thing called pyxis. so the nurse im paired up with took out 4 mg of dilaudid and she handed it to me, i checked it and we went to the patients room. i checked it again, checked his respirations, asked his pain, and administered the medication. well the nurse i was paired with then noticed the mistake.....he was only suppose to have TWO MG q3h NOT FOUR MG!!!! I gave him an extra 2mg!!! I feel SO STUPID. How could I miss that?? HOW? We reported it right away to the rn and then the charge nurse, both were not concerned. We informed the patient, he was totally fine. Respirations fine, etc. It actually helped his pain more than it had with just the 2mg he had been receiving. BUT STILL. I made such a stupid mistake. Now Im freaking out majorly. The nurse Im paired with had to fill out an incident report and she said my name is on it and she said that the nurse manager will talk to her and might even talk to my instructor. :( I have never made one mistake my during any of my clinicals and I make this stupid mistake so close to being done. What should I do? Im scared to tell my instructor, but it would be better if I told her before the nurse manager does(if she even does.) Im freaking out and feeel sooooo stupid. :(

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    • Featured Replies

    Hi jennrose...I would say you definately need to tell your clinical instructor. I'm sure it's going to be scary, but it's something that the instructor needs to know. Thank goodness your patient was fine and nothing adverse happened.

    Remember you are working as a student, and mistakes happen. Just next time be more careful..double, triple check if you have to! Good luck!!!

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    I think we (Student nurses) have all made mistakes in clinicals, it is a part of the growing process. Sometimes mistakes without someone getting hurt can be a good thing a as student, you become extra cautious not to make the same mistake again. I bet the next time you give meds, you will check the dosage 3 or 4 times before you administer. Don’t get too down on yourself, learn from the experience, and I bet it won’t happen again. My first day of clinical I assessed and charted on the wrong patient and got chewed out by my instructor she said “what if I was giving meds, you would have them to the wrong patient”. Guess what….before I go into a patient’s room I check the room number like 4 times before I walk in to prevent that from happening again. You will be o.k. GOOD LUCK

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    at my school, accountability is emphasized over and over again. we can never learn from, or help others to prevent med errors that we have made if we do not report them. you told the rn and the head nurse which was the right thing to do but, you also need to tell your instructor. consider that, not only could trust be compromised with your instructor if you do not tell her/him but, consider that you are working under her/his license.

    good luck. your not stupid, we are all new to this!

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    • Experts

    Tell your instructor. You are right: it is far better if you take responsibility for the mistake and she hears it directly from you, than for her to learn about it from someone else.

    At least the patient was OK. And perhaps it was a blessing in disguise and they ended up reevaluating his medication dose/schedule so his pain is better addressed. I had a mistake happen like that to me, but with BP medication--another nurse forgot to discontinue an old order on the MAR and I accidentally gave two doses...and the PT's pressure finally decreased to WNL after weeks of being high. So when we told the doctor, he agreed that he needed more and adjusted the medication. It didn't excuse my mistake though, but at least some good came of it.

    Good luck!

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    Tell your instructor what you did... it is the ethical, accountable, responsable thing to do. Any good instructor would admire your courage to do so and if not, let the chips fall where they may

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    • Author

    ahhhh Im so nervous!! I just emailed her and told her I needed to talk to her about a medication situation. I told her everything was ok and the patient was fine. But I just need to talk to her. I talked to my preceptor a few minutes ago and she is very understanding and said she will do anything she can to help. I think everything will be ok. My instructor is very understanding. Im just so bummed out.

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