How do I deal with my emotions?!

[namahshivaya]

I just started working as a nurses aid and am going into my final semester of nursing school. I had a pt with alzheimers who went from a sweet little lady to a combative, angry, witch. I couldn't stop thinking about her and it gave me insomnia. Today I was a sitter for a brain injury pt who was a high fall risk. He had bathroom priveleges and when he was having a bowel movement I gave him privacy and he fell. I feel so horrible about this and am so emotional. I feel SO guilty and know that it will bother a lot the next few days. I'm concerned that I will not be able to be a nurse b/c it's so hard to let go of what happens during my shift. Any advice??

[Bonnie Nurse]

You are not perfect. You must let go of this. Do whatever it takes. See a therapist. This can undermine your confidence. You will become better able to forsee what can go wrong in any given situation, but your confidence must remain intact. Believe in yourself. We all have to learn by our mistakes. Hang in there and when you leave the unit, then deliberately set about doing something that requires your whole attention. You are giving yourself too much time to mull over the events of the day. You also cannot say with 100% accuracy that he wouldn't have fallen anyway. I've had patients take me down with them.

[EymieICURN]

It is very hard to let go of some things when I get home...I make it a point on reading before bed...something unrelated to nursing. Find a good book ( love the Twilight series) or a magazine (love Rachel Rays) and try to read it until you are really tired! Even during nursing school I made it a point of doing this.

Good Luck! and Like Bonnie nurse said we all make mistakes, just make sure you learn from them!