Hi all! I am a brand new nurse who has been orienting on a Med Surg floor for a couple of months and I just had my SEVENTH solo shift.
I made a mistake. The mistake did not hurt the patient, but could have. I got lucky. I do not want to go into too many details, but let me just say, it was the type of mistake that scares me because I had no idea I was doing something wrong nor did I even question what I was doing. I was a routine thing, that I have done a bunch of times, just something special with this patient.
I can not shake this feeling. I know I messed up, but now I am terrified and full of anxiety. I know I should be thankful the patient is okay, but this has shaken me to my core. I am not in trouble at work, they just chalked it up to a learning experience. I am scared to go back. How did everyone get through their first major mistake?
Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.
My first was caught by my preceptor: I crossed my lines and accidentally ran another med as a maintenance fluid for about 20 minutes. I had to go home for the rest of the day because I was so emotionally overwrought by it. I thought I lost my job, my license, the whole nine yards. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep that night. Had to write up my own safety report. Thought my career was OVER.
Natch.
Had the same patient the next day, the mistake had not harmed him in the slightest. Nothing else happened. Now I obsessively triple check my lines, IV pumps, and rates before handoff. I re-arrange the hanging bags so that each is above the pump it runs to, other nurses think I'm weird but it's helped me avoid repeating my mistake.
Point is, unless you directly kill a patient, there is unlikely to be any repercussions from your mistake. Learn from it, seek the resources you need to overcome your anxiety, and move on. I bet you'll never make that same mistake again.
Wrench Party
823 Posts
My first was caught by my preceptor: I crossed my lines and accidentally ran another med as a maintenance fluid for about 20 minutes. I had to go home for the rest of the day because I was so emotionally overwrought by it. I thought I lost my job, my license, the whole nine yards. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep that night. Had to write up my own safety report. Thought my career was OVER.
Natch.
Had the same patient the next day, the mistake had not harmed him in the slightest. Nothing else happened. Now I obsessively triple check my lines, IV pumps, and rates before handoff. I re-arrange the hanging bags so that each is above the pump it runs to, other nurses think I'm weird but it's helped me avoid repeating my mistake.
Point is, unless you directly kill a patient, there is unlikely to be any repercussions from your mistake. Learn from it, seek the resources you need to overcome your anxiety, and move on. I bet you'll never make that same mistake again.