Young & Ignorant

lovemyjob · Mar 16, 2007

is this similar to leukocyte reduced?

I know in neonated we use a special filter to pull op the blood...it is given in a syringe, not straight from the bag.

OP, you have learned form your error, it was not on purpose, allow yourself forgiveness.... you would do the same for another person, you should do it for yourself too!

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2007

I agree, forgive yourself and move on. You learned several lessons from this one incident. To always look information up for yourself, not to take someone elses word for anything, and to admit to your error at the time it happens. Your patient was ok,, noone was harmed, consider it a lesson well learned and move on.

You cant continue to beat yourself up for something that actually didnt harm anyone. Save it for when/if something REALLY happens. Hopefully that wont happen and you wont be battered. Move on, your current patients need your undivided attention.

nursemary9, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2007

You were a new Nurse; You asked a more experienced RN, who, you assumed was giving you good advise; You made a mistake.

You have learned from your mistake & I'll bet you'll never make that mistake again. Another thing you should have learned is to always look things up in the policies if you don't know---that way you can be sure you are doing it correctly!!

Don't beat your self up at this late date!! As I said, it was a mistake; we all make them & we all need to forgive ourselves when we do. The important part is LEARNING!!

RElax!! Maybe you do need a vacation.

janetjanetbobanet · Mar 16, 2007

You can't spend your nursing career worrying like that! None of us want to do anything that would hurt our patients and we try to do the best we can under sometimes difficult conditions. You asked experienced nurses who should have been good resources for you. Quit beating up on yourself.

BULLYDAWGRN, RN · Mar 16, 2007

Forgive yourself for being human.

Irishgirl · Mar 16, 2007

I think its stress-school; work FT, just bought a house. I gave IV Remicade on Tue and can't remember if I used a filter or not...probably did, I remember priming one. But I spoke to the pt today & she's okay. I think something would have happened by now if it were going to. See? I'm going crazy, its official. I need a vacation...Ahhhh!

angel337, MSN, RN · Mar 16, 2007

i think the reason they told you that you could use regular tubing is because platelets are suppose to infuse in fast. i always use blood tubing for platelets and put in on an IV pump over 30 minutes. platelets can infuse in 15 minutes though. don't feel bad. we all make mistakes and learn from them.

Irishgirl · Mar 16, 2007

Is there any help for self-doubt? I took a BP today, and keep mulling over it, "did I hear it correctly, was it right?" It was low, and I gave the man his "numbers" to show his Dr., but if his BP med gets lowered b/c of it and he dies, is it my fault? They'll check his BP at his MD's office anyway, right? I'm freaking out...officially. I've never felt so nervous or on edge. :uhoh3:

Dorito, ASN, RN · Mar 16, 2007

Nurses are notorious about second guessing things after something happens but you have to learn to forgive yourself. One of my favorite doctors once said "I never take credit for saving a patient because if I did I'd have to take credit if I didn't save them"....after hearing that I looked at things differently and quit crucifying myself. Take some time to refresh and regenerate. Good luck.

lifeLONGstudent · Mar 19, 2007

first: check out your hospital's policy and procedure manual. it is easy to ask others what they do, but if they don't practice where you do, their p&p may be different. you are held accountable for following the standards where you work.

second: use your inhouse resources. ask the blood bank supervisor or manager. ask the blood bank pathologists. ask your nurse educator. ask for an inservice - if you don't know it, chances are that lots of others don't know it either (probably some of them on this board). find the answer and then volunteer to give an inservice to your unit -- and update this thread with what you found.

lifelongstudent

i can tell you that i worked as a tech in blood bank for 12 years - that was my first degree before nursing. we always gave special tubing for plts -- -mainly because the tubing did not fit the pump for a reason! platelets are very fragile and you will destroy them when you put them on a pump. again, check with your institution's policy.

lovemyjob · Mar 19, 2007

that is an interesting piece of info. I have to say, I have always learned a ton after talking to someone who works in the lab or blood bank or pharmacy. Those other departments are great resources.... sometimes I call the lab/BB first to get an answer to a question.

darrell · Mar 20, 2007

This happened about 3 yrs ago & I woke up this a.m. freaking out. I can't believe I was so worried about saving my butt than learning from my mistake.

Only you can absolve you. Having said that, though, you can try to go back in time and change it...oops, I guess you can't! That only leaves accepting that the past is immutable and then moving on.

Does that seem callous? Do you feel you need to atone? I am 48 and you are probably younger. Life isn't all neat like that: you can't pay a fine and be absolved. But you can accept your mistakes and lay them to rest emotionally.

This moment is the first moment of the rest of your life. Since you can't change one second of the past, let's focus on this moment forward. Are you doing everything you can to safeguard your present and future patients? Are you focused on them instead of being distracted by last year or last night?

While it might seem superficially noble to worry about a past client, it also might be a deadly mistake for present one! Look always for the things you can affect. Accept your human failings and set your past mistakes aside - you can't undo them anyway. What can you do right now, right this moment, to get a little better?

D