Have you ever made a medication error- yes, no or almost.

nola1202 · Jul 20, 2011

Nurses, how many of you have ever made a medication error. I don't know if the system will allow us to answer yes - no, almost or never.

yes, of course, if you work long enough you will make an error, omission, or the wrong time or wrong med or the right med to the wrong patient. even IV meds.

That why I'm so careful, the consequences are so severe sometimes, other times, it's not that big a deal. Luckily mine have caused no harm to the patient, but I take it seriously, the next one might hurt someone and I'd have a hard time living with that.

feelingbetter · Jul 21, 2011

YES.. it scared me to death! No harm to the patient but enough of a scare to me to get me to leave the job! Couldn't sleep, always afraid I'de "Make a mistake" terrible ,terrible feeling!

surgicalcap · Jul 21, 2011

Yes, I have. I have been a nurse for over 24 years and have made about 4 over those years. I have found several of them that someone else has done. I can remember all of them as if they were yesterday. No harm came to any of the patients but it is still a mistake.

MrChicagoRN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

There are three kinds of nurses:

Those who have made mistakes, those that haven't done so (yet), and those who don't realize they are making mistakes.

The last group is the scariest.

We are all at risk to err. The trick is to learn from our mistakes, including identifying what internal & external factors put us at risk.

annlewis · Jul 28, 2011

yes, I have...luckily for the resident all were just like half a dose of right med and not a wrong med...but it makes you feel terrible...I have identified how it happens, rushing to get the task done and being interrupted. I now keep a alert sheet to myself by my medex to slow down and recheck before I adm. So far, so good.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 28, 2011

Of course I have, I'm human! My goal is to never make the same mistake twice...so far, in that I've been successful. But I can't let myself get lax about making any mistake.

tachybradyRN · Jul 29, 2011

been a nurse two years. my answer is yes, and almost, in different situations. luckily the 'yes' didn't end up being a critical error; i gave one 0.25 mg xanax instead of the full dose of four (i misread the MAR). the almost was scarier.. but luckily caught it during my third round of checks.

Rntr · Jul 29, 2011

Yes, I did the same thing years ago... didn't want to make that mistake and knew that I couldn't do "all" that was requested or made to do and still do a good job. I knew I couldn't give the care that needed to be done so I found a place to work where I could do one patient at a time... the OR....

Jenni811, RN · Jul 30, 2011

I've heard SO many horror stories of nurses making mistakes and it could have happened to ANYONE. even when they do their 5 rights, a mistake happens. Like one time...pharmacy mixed the medication wrong. The RN checked what the sticker on the bag said, but didn't read the actual bag to see it wasn't NaCl.

mistake anyone could have made.

So when i'm doing medications, i am in my ZONE! Our hospital has actually talked about making us wear something when we are doing meds to tell people we cannot be talked to. Instead they thought that was a little excessive and tried the "safe zone" tape. when we are standing in the "safe zone" (a square of red tape infront of the pyxis) we are to not be talked to by anyone! even docs. we are to not answer our work phones.

CrazyGoonRN · Jul 30, 2011

Nurses, how many of you have ever made a medication error. I don't know if the system will allow us to answer yes - no, almost or never.

Yes, It scared me to the core! My 2nd week on the job as a new nurse I gave a patient her roomates meds!!! :uhoh3: Patient turned out fine with no complications but it was a horrible experience! I immediatly went to my preceptor and told her what I had done then almost passed out from being so upset. Thank God that the patient was OK!!! I went home later that day and seriously considered quitting my job, but the more I thought about it I knew I had to stick it out. And guess what??? Everything turned out good and I love my job!! :)

allnurses Guide · Jul 30, 2011

I gave a little girl her prednisone tab two hours early - I do remember it clearly and am thankful it was not something that harmed her. It bothers me now that nurses report a lot of harsh and punitive responses to medication errors these days, which to me just means there will be more because people will fear filling out an incident report.