i am at my third year of nursing.on my second last day of my clinical, i made a medication error. i gave patient t's nitroglycerin patch to patient s, (they are in the same room). s' systolic bp went down to 60. during the day s also received 2 bags of iv morphine for pain management, the np thought the bp drop maybe due to morphine. i did not realize the error until the next clinical day, i was told by my tutor. the floor nurse educator told my tutor one of the nurse found the nitro patch on s at night, they figured out s' low bp is due to nitro patch.
my tutor was really angry at me. she failed me. (my 3 months of hard work!)
now i need to repeat the clinical course next term, or maybe i have to repeat the whole year, depend on the progression committee's decision. i don't know how i am able to survive the next two year without the support net work i had with my other nursing friends. i am also scared to make another mistake again. i am scared of nursing now. i am dealing wit pt's life. i am not sure if i am safe. i don't know if i will ever be competent to be a nurse.
help!!! how to write a letter to progression committee?
Specializes in Psychiatric, Detox/Rehab, Geriatrics.
she said she did check the arm band, but got it mixed up after getting interrupted, and wasnt sure who was supposed to get what med...Now at that point, if you wasnt sure, you should have went back to medication administration record and check again. Good luck to you in the future. :-)
I was at a neurosurgical floor. Most patients I had were not alert, no responsive to command. Do you still explain to them "the medication you are giving, and why?"
As well, both of my patients have oral medications through gastrointestinal tubes, so all oral meds have to be crushed and put in cups, plus other meds, heparin, and supository I have to administer. These meds did not have pt's names on them when they are out of patient's med drawer. It became difficult to remember what are the meds, and who these meds are for.
When it is difficult to remember the meds and who they are for, that is all the more reason to increase your attention to what you are doing. I stayed over on another shift to do a med pass. I was so tired that I couldn't see straight and would forget on my way to the patient who the meds I had in hand were for. I told the DON that I slowed down even more and would return to the med cart as many as three times to insure I was not making an error. After that fiasco, I informed my supervisor that upon reflection, it was not a safe med pass and I would no longer do something like that. I took responsibility for my part in the possibility of serious errors and took corrective action. You need to do this too. If you don't come up with the right answers for the committee and do not sound convincing, you will not get what you want. Like Soon2Be said, your last post sounds too much like excuses. You can't write your response like that.
I was at a neurosurgical floor. Most patients I had were not alert, no responsive to command. Do you still explain to them "the medication you are giving, and why?"
As well, both of my patients have oral medications through gastrointestinal tubes, so all oral meds have to be crushed and put in cups, plus other meds, heparin, and supository I have to administer. These meds did not have pt's names on them when they are out of patient's med drawer. It became difficult to remember what are the meds, and who these meds are for.
Thanks
I still talk to my sedated patients . . . depending on their level of sedation, they can still hear you. But, if the patients are non-responsive, you don't have to explain prior to med admin. As I said before, bring a patient label along with the medications so you don't have to remember the patient's name . . . you don't have to bring the mar.
Another suggestion: if your meds are individually packaged . . . bring them in the packaging into the room so that you can identify each med . . . if all you have is crushed meds in a cup, how can you do the six rights? You can crush the meds at the bedside, then dissolve them . . .
You should really think through this med error, learn from it, so you do not repeat the mistake. Some of your description above still sounds like excuses and frankly, sounds like recipe for disaster.
Specializes in CT Surgery; Transplants; VAD Specialist.
Nursing is an incredibly demanding profession. There are guidelines and steps created for a reason. Nurses follow them as I'm sure I will find out some day. A mistake was made. You own it. You realize it. Now you must be completely and utterly honest, first, with yourself. No holds barred. That may mean being tough on yourself, tougher than your clinical instructor. But don't beat yourself up. The purpose is to learn from your mistake, not become more fearful.
I've been in business for many many years. I've heard every excuse in the book in my former line of business. I imagine the committee has, too. If I were one of those members, I would want to see that the person that clearly committed the mistake took ownership of it; understood why it occurred; and what they would do in the future to prevent such a mistake from occurring again.
I'm sure there's more to it than that (I'm a new student just entering the profession, I have a lot more yet to learn). However, I would want to see evidence of the aforementioned three elements. Of course, outlining those elements certainly doesn't guarantee you a free ride from responsibility or demerit, but what it does do for you it help you learn from, what could have been, a deathly mistake.
As for your clinical tutor making what is perceived as a harsh decision, it may be that you were so close to the end of the clinical that weighed heavily on that decision. I hope it wasn't impulsive, but had you made the mistake earlier on at the beginning, you may not have been failed. Maybe your tutor believed at the level you ascended to, a mistake like that should have greater impact on you going forward. If it were me, I would sit down with your tutor and have a heart to heart. Not to change their mind, but to understand the situation more. So you can be a better nurse. The best that you can be.
You were interrupted at some point during a process. Did you believe you were you one hundred percent sure that you were administering patch properly? You only know that for sure. But if there was any doubt, and you felt pressured because of, say, time and how starting the procedure over again would negatively impact your schedule, then you must reckon with yourself and truly understand how such a pressure can negatively impact your patient. IF that is the case. But you really only know the true case. Whatever happened, dissect every thought process that led you to that mistake, no matter how difficult that process may be. You'll be better for it.
I hope it all turns out well for you. And I hope you learn well from this. Don't be afraid of the profession, just continue to respect it.
Specializes in Sub Acute Rehab/ Oncology Med-Surg.
Hi, I want to explain the situation a bit more.
I was at a neurosurgical floor. Most patients I had were not alert, no responsive to command. Do you still explain to them "the medication you are giving, and why?"
As well, both of my patients have oral medications through gastrointestinal tubes, so all oral meds have to be crushed and put in cups, plus other meds, heparin, and supository I have to administer. These meds did not have pt's names on them when they are out of patient's med drawer. It became difficult to remember what are the meds, and who these meds are for.
Thanks
I always do- from my alert patients to my non-verbal ones. I have a majority of patient's with different degrees of dementia as well, but they still want to know what they are getting and what for. I always recite the meds as I'm pulling them in my head, check them against the mar, and double check the name of the patient and the name of the patient. I've only made one med error, learning from that experience made me stronger and much more alert when passing meds. I aways make sure that they are safe and my mind is at ease. Kinda like checking the stove before leaving the house..
Are nursing students allowed to give medications without direct supervision from an RN?
If so were you working with an RN? Surely they should also be held accountable?
In Australia students are not allowed to give any form of medication without an RN present as students are not regulated by a professional body.
Anyway I personally think it's a very harsh punishment failing you like this. When people fear this sort of harsh reprisal it's no great surprise when people won't admit their drug errors. It should be an opportunity for you to reeducate yourself with the principles of administering medication, not to dole out extreme forms of punishment.
more than several times have i caught myself from giving the wrong thing to the wrong patient, by using with a passion, those simple standards checks.
to the op, that is why you must use those checks like you got religion; become absolutely steadfast and obsessive compulsive about them. get it down to a routine, and don't ever deviate from it. not only do they protect the patients, they will also protect forgetful, busy, overwhelmed and distracted nurses from losing their licenses; ...or nursing students who should hope to ever get one.
jpRN84, BSN, RN
123 Posts
she said she did check the arm band, but got it mixed up after getting interrupted, and wasnt sure who was supposed to get what med...Now at that point, if you wasnt sure, you should have went back to medication administration record and check again. Good luck to you in the future. :-)