Help: Medication error

Nurses New Nurse

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Hi, I'm new here, I'm also a new graduate. I've been working in a NICU for 5 months and last night made a medication error. I gave hydralazine to INCREASE BP, I somehow got it confused in my head that labetalol = L = low BP and hydralazine = H = high BP.. I have the Pt 10 mg, we were trying to keep BP within certain limits and I made it fall. I realized my mistake, started neosynephrine, titrated it up and the pts BP was within limits within 45 minutes. The charge nurse was aware, she basically said don't worry about it, the end of shift, get a phone call from the boss and long story short...no job. They can't have a nurse who makes med errors on their high acuity unit.

My worry is this...I realize I've shut the door there but he said he is obligated to tell anyone who calls him about this and so now am I messed up from finding another job???

Please help!!! :uhoh21:

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i am sorry that happened to you any one can make a mistake. i usually walk with my pda if i am not sure about a medication. if they are not going to report to thebon i guess you should be ok

i would not use them as a reference

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Specializes in Pediatric Psychiatry, Home Health VNA.

NICU = Neuro ICU, right? Wow, I think that's really harsh considering the error ended with a positive outcome. If it was your second or third then I could understand the reaction. Nurses are human, we make mistakes. I'm sorry you work in a unit that doesn't support its nurses. Rest assured, there are others out there that do and this med error will not be the end of your career as a nurse.

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Since I'm a new graduate, if I don't use them as a reference, I won't have any nursing work experience. Won't prospective employers be worried about this too?

All throughout the 5 months I worked there, I was extremely happy. I enjoyed the intensity of the work/patients. I never had another med error. Yes I made other errors during orientation (came off orientation approx 8 wks ago) but nothing like this.

The boss said basically, if I had given my other pt my first pts meds he would have been ok with it BUT becuase I gave a medication that I THOUGHT was supposed to do one thing and it really did the opposite, then he didn't need a nurse on his unit like that.

I've been advised to seek legal advice, I don't want to get into a mess but I don't want my career smeared either if he is going to 'tell everyone about this'. The pt was alive when I finished my shift. The BP never went below 120/74 (we were trying to keep it SBP >160

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