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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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....

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.

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!!! 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!! :)

Yes of course, gave med at wrong time, told on myself, and was shaken to my core, but thankfully no harm done.