insulin med error

[flyladynurse]

I have been a nurse for almost one year- I just had a major med error this morning- I gave the wrong insulin to a patient...I gave him 32 units instead of 18- my heart sunk and I have had that nautious feeling all day. I reported it to the Dr right away and also filled out a med error report sheet. The residents blood sugar was over 200 this morning, then I had to go home and sleep- I worked the night shift. HAs anyone done this before?? Will I lose my job? Thank goodness the patient is ok.....

[Happy-ER-RN, RN]

We don't have to co sign for heparin or insulin at our facility either but I always have another nurse check. I asked a nurse to double check my heparin drip the other day and she rolled her eyes at me and said "oh, I never do that." I just got someone else to go check it. Even if that is not your hospital's policy I would just have someone double check from now on, it will give you peace of mind and who cares if the other nurse thinks you are being paranoid since they don't double check theirs.

Don't beat yourself up, everyone makes mistakes, you have definitely learned from your mistake and you are now a better nurse for it.

[rosemadder]

In our facility, a med error was not addressed except by the pharmacy after it happened. Then we got a five page report to fill out that most nurses conveniently filed in trash.

Med errors are going to happen...you are human. The main thing you did right was report it and take responsbility. I know the nauseating feeling you get when you realized what you've done. At least the patient you gave insulin to was a diabetic...you will learn from this error and it will help you in the long run to be more careful.

[GermPhobe]

We have a really inane insulin policy. We have to have two sets of eyeballs on the syringe before we inject. It's a "Yup, that's 5 units," type of thing. The problem is, the second RN doesn't check the order or the pt's blood glucose level. Consequently, she has no idea whether 5 units is, in fact, the right dose! PLUS, you have to leave the patient's room to get a double-check. I maintain that I'm MORE likely to make an error, because I can walk back into the wrong room, and inject the wrong patient.

I'm seriously thinking of asking my supervisor if I can do my own double-checks--under the honor system.