Do all nurses make fatal mistakes?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am a nursing student and today one of my fellow students was telling me how she expects to make a mistake in her career that will lead to a patient's death. She then said every person she knows in the medical field has made a fatal mistake at some point.

I have heard over and over again that every nurse will make a med error, but is it true that every nurse will make a fatal error?

Are the any experienced nurses that can shed some light on this?

Thanks,

Concerned/suddenly terrified student

Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Well, I've been in nursing over 30 years -- I've made my share of med and other errors, but I haven't killed anyone yet.

Same here 17 years and no patient dead due to a mistake on my part. Same is true for most of the nurses in my general circle - but I don't imagine they'd talk about it much if they did. Sounds like an urban legend. Tell your friend that if she expects to make a fatal mistake she better invest in good . It can be purchased quite cheaply when you are a student and your premium stays low throughout your career!

Hppy

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Yeah and make sure to inform this board of where she goes to work. Maybe inform the police and the media too so everyone will be there on the big day.

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Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.
I have only 3 years experience. I made a few medicine errors but all were harmless, not even close to fatal. Its not that easy to kill patient unless you work in ICU and overdose very potent drug.

sorry, no!

PINCH medications are declared high risk because they are - agency nurse attempted to give 50 units of novoRAPID instead of NovMIX. Graduate nurse decided she knew better than me (unit manger), the nurse in charge and the medical notes - withheld DAPT (double anti platelet therpay) on a patient with a GI bleed - pt was 3 weeks post cardiac stents for an MI. DAPT was required for patency of his stents for 6 months. Pt missed 2 doses as nurse on next shift did not pay attention to drug chart. Pt had a stent occlusion - graduate nurse no longer works on my ward (for many reasons). When in risk and quality investigated a death - pt missed his NOAC for 3 days because of 2 key nursing reasons, ED nurse sent the wife home with all his meds because she didn't want to store them & ward staff kept documenting N (not available) but not one person went to find out exactly what the medication was - recognised on day 4 morning shift but pt arrested before medication was delivered...

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:yes: Tell your friend if she plans on killing someone she probably will! It's called self-fulfilling prophecy so maybe she should listen to her instincts and change career paths now!

Maybe God is talking to her to prevent this death/killing?! Listen to her instincts and have some compassion for the person she may kill.

You, in the meantime, after encouraging your friend to change her mind about killing someone, triple check med doses, narcotic doses, aminophylline drips, etc. and don't have patients drink anything you haven't triple checked if you've poured from a wrong bottle, look at the bottle, etc. Look at your patient not just the monitors! Get on top of any strange reactions from meds, etc.!

Also watch equipment around patients. Don't use a cautery pen near a dry gauze! Don't forget to recalibrate any laser every single time you turn it on!

If you're pumping up a stretcher and it seems heavy, look up, you could be pushing a big monitor off it's mount with a little ole IV pole to land within inches of a patients head or something!

Just saying there are a lot of potential life-threatening things that can and do happen in a hospital!!! I'm sure if I'd killed anyone I would not want to talk about it online. Even if I did for the purpose of preventing anyone else doing the same an attorney would probably advise otherwise.:specs:

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For some reason, I am thinking about the serial killers who have worked in healthcare. But their fatalities are not the result of mistakes.

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I wanted to be so sarcastic in my reply.....but I restrained myself.

I hate math and statistics, but I am pretty certain thousands more people die in car accidents each year than from nurses, and I'll even include doctors, making fatal mistakes.

I doubt if you or your friend go around saying you are going to make a fatal mistake and kill yourselves, your loved ones, or an innocent stranger, in an automobile accident once a year.

That is much more likely to happen but we all seem to accept it.

Please repeat after me. "It is very very VERY difficult to kill a patient from a wrong IV, or pill, or "mistake".

OK I'll have to be a little snarky, if you are so gullible to believe a preposterous statement your friend makes, I don't think you should go into nursing!

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Hey ya know how I heard something from a friend and then came here to relay the question? That was me NOT believing something I heard before I got more information.

If you're so negative that you think you should suggest to a nursing student they shouldn't enter the field simply because they asked a question, perhaps you shouldn't be in nursing yourself.

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Yikes.... that's a very negative self-prophecy! Hope her belief changes once she's done with school!

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Ok I am a new grad and I accidentally gave Xarelto about 5 hours after the epidural was removed instead of 6 hours after due to a communication error. Does anyone think this is something I should be worried about? I don't know what the consequences are.

Thanks

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Hey ya know how I heard something from a friend and then came here to relay the question? That was me NOT believing something I heard before I got more information.

If you're so negative that you think you should suggest to a nursing student they shouldn't enter the field simply because they asked a question, perhaps you shouldn't be in nursing yourself.

Really? REALLY??? R-E-A-L-L-Y???!!! I don't think so. Why ask if you don't want true answers?!!!!

And also you're welcome for all those suggestions to help you and "your friend" to keep from possibly killing someone too!!!

There is sooooo much to be said for experience! You are living proof!!!

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Geez, Brownbook and wondern - dial it down a notch!

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
I wanted to be so sarcastic in my reply.....but I restrained myself.

I hate math and statistics, but I am pretty certain thousands more people die in car accidents each year than from nurses, and I'll even include doctors, making fatal mistakes.

I doubt if you or your friend go around saying you are going to make a fatal mistake and kill yourselves, your loved ones, or an innocent stranger, in an automobile accident once a year.

That is much more likely to happen but we all seem to accept it.

Please repeat after me. "It is very very VERY difficult to kill a patient from a wrong IV, or pill, or "mistake".

OK I'll have to be a little snarky, if you are so gullible to believe a preposterous statement your friend makes, I don't think you should go into nursing!

Maybe you should have restrained yourself a little better. That last sentence was unnecessary and unreasonable.

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