med error: i think im in trouble pls help!

ldixn1217 · Feb 14, 2007

Alot is going to depend on your hospital policy, but at my hospital an incident report is filled out and if no harm is done to patient then the incident report becomes a part of your file. If harm was done to patient then you would be in jepordy of being fired and or loss or suspension of license. However with it being ancef and only one dose missed, i feel that a incident report would be more likely to happen.

Hope this helps!

katypurry · Feb 14, 2007

"the incident report becomes a part of your file."

what will this serve in the future? i guess its something bad. would it be like when other employers call they'll say, "oh she missed giving 1 dose of antibiotic.." or something? thanks again.. i guess ill be able to sleep a little bit now... THANKS!! (i am so sleepy that the word "file" kinda looked like "life" to me for a second there hehe.. i read again... haha silly me..)

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2007

There will be an incident report that thats there was a missed dose which is a med error.

This is not the same as being "written up". People get the two confused. Getting written up is a disciplinary action. Missing a dose of medication does not warrent discipline if it's the first time.

Incident reports are not kept in your personnel file, but kept in risk management. The less copies the better.

You will not be fired, but might be "counseled", i.e. you manager tells you to be more careful.

What have you learned from this and how will you prevent it from happening again?

Hang in there.

luckylucyrn · Feb 14, 2007

Okay, BIIIIIIIIGGG deep breath in...now let it out and try and relax :)

I really think you will be OK. Meds are missed sometimes and as long as there are no serious repurcussions (spelling? I've been up all night!) for the patient, which there shouldn't be with one missed abx dose, then I don't think you will be in much trouble. I agree with the above poster, that at most "counseling" is in order.

I am just finishing up my first year in Nursing, and I have by no means been perfect, with little errors here and there. One night I gave a patient a med they were allergic to, and i'm the one that wrote out the allergy list! (in my defense, it was solumedrol, given FOR allergic reactions!). That's one of the many mistakes I have made. From that incident (which I was not written up for, I wrote an incident report out myself for that one), I have become SO much more careful with giving meds. Things happen, and you learn from them. If they fired everyone for every small mistake, there would be VERY few nurses out there! Think of it as a learning opportunity and KEEP LEARNING!

emmycRN · Feb 14, 2007

Please do not continue to beat yourself up over this. Every nurse makes miltakes, we're only human after all. Your mistake was a very common one with little to no harm done. Don't make the same mistake I did. That is, spending the first 3-4 years as a nurse worrying about making a mistake and losing your license. Very few nurses lose thier licenses over medication errors. As long as you are doing your best (what a prudent nurse in your situation would do) you will always be doing the right thing. After 6 years in my career I am just now realizing that as long as I go to work and do the best job I can do, always being conscientious, there is no reason to worry. And I am finally able to leave my work at work. I hope your able to trust yourself and become comfortable sooner than I did, otherwise you might be headed for burnout city and other anxiety problems that many nurses suffer from. Hope this post helps relieve a bit of your stress. And another thing--get some rest!!!! Nothing is worth putting yourself into sleep deficit and possibly harming your health.

katypurry · Feb 15, 2007

thanks so much guys!! well, i slept 12 hours after i read the posts. haha.. belated happy valentine's day!!:roll

old1guitar · Feb 15, 2007

I am a new LPN I do not haver a job yet but ya`ll made me feel better reading your replies! My mentor told me in so many words that I was a failure because I could not remember every drug I was giving to a gentleman, (there was about ten pills, and the very first time I set them up.) Ever since then I have feeling as though I can not be a nurse. We are human not computers

Myxel67 · Feb 15, 2007

You need a new mentor!. It is important to know the meds you give--action, side effects & major contraindications. But nobody said you can't keep a notecard on each pt. Or perhaps a card with info on meds frequently given on your floor. It just takes time.

bluesky, BSN, RN · Feb 15, 2007

I think if a manager came down too hard on me... I'd be like well, would you have preferred that she get the ancef but stroke out because I didn't do anything about her pressure? I would also voice some major concerns over the resident that was neglectful in his responsibility to call you back and a week chain of command that wasn't able to help you get results. I am just so sick and tired of nurses getting screwed for everything. You did some good critical thinking by prioritizing the pressure problem.

I think perhaps it was a little boo-boo not to at least tell the next nurse coming on that you didn't give the ancef (she could have given it then)

in a cellulitis patient... however if your manager is any good she'll simply explain that an incident report will be filed but that she's also going to follow up on your legitimate concerns. We've all forgotten something somewhere along the line... and more than once_ for me at least.

Let us know how it went.

At the better places I've worked, we always check the recent orders and kardexes at the end of shift so a med that hasn't been given is immediately found.

old1guitar · Feb 15, 2007

You know what? An instructor saw us interacting and felt my mentor was coming down too hard on me. I did get a new mentor. Ever since that experience though I have been beating myself up because I couldn`t memorize ten or so pills after seeing them for less then a minute. I will move on now thak you