help... making mistakes

[seaglass123]

I am new to nursing and started about 5 mths ago in pediatrics. I love the work but we are understaffed which seems to be the norm most places. I also had some personal issues at the time of my orientation..unexpected divorce..lots of stress. The problem is I have made to med errors.. the pt. was fine, it was the right med and pt. but wrong time or route. I told the docs and my charge nurse, etc. I have been very careful to double or triple check everything and have not had anymore med errors. Yesterday I had a new admit who was admitted by another nurse to help out since i had a few admits on my shift. She told me on her report that he was on fluids so I had that written on my paper but no orders were in yet. I failed to notice that he was not written for fluids when the orders came in and kept him on for my shift. He was fine since he was not drinking anything anyway but in a different circumstance it could have been very harmful as could the med errors above.

My question.... am I an incompetent nurse and should get out before I hurt someone or should I keep at it? I know part of the problem is the understaffing on our unit which is difficult for even the experienced nurses. That is supposed to be improving in the next couple months. Also, I am hoping to feel less stressed with more experience and with moving on from my divorce. It has just gotten to the point that I can't sleep because of worrying about all of this and I am so afraid that I will make a mistake that really harms a pt. But I love my job and really want to do well. Please give your honest opinions or experiences you have had. Thanks

[labrador4122, RN]

Girl,

reading your story is like I am reading mine. I've been working for a year now, and I have made plenty of mistakes and I know it's because I am really tired of working nights-- I have a young child (2yrs) and most of the time I am not getting adequate sleep.

My plans are to finish my BSN and hopefully get an office type job where I can do research, take vitals, or do only paper work and not do bedside care.

Bedside care is the hardest-- I am really scared that I may overlook something and that my patient will pass away or have a bad infiltrate eventhough I check on them every 2 hours during the night.

I give morphine on my floor like it's water-- and what if one day one of these kids have a reaction to it and go in to resp. failure??

[kessadawn, BSN, RN]

i am new to nursing and started about 5 mths ago in pediatrics. i love the work but we are understaffed which seems to be the norm most places. i also had some personal issues at the time of my orientation..unexpected divorce..lots of stress. the problem is i have made to med errors.. the pt. was fine, it was the right med and pt. but wrong time or route. i told the docs and my charge nurse, etc. i have been very careful to double or triple check everything and have not had anymore med errors. yesterday i had a new admit who was admitted by another nurse to help out since i had a few admits on my shift. she told me on her report that he was on fluids so i had that written on my paper but no orders were in yet. i failed to notice that he was not written for fluids when the orders came in and kept him on for my shift. he was fine since he was not drinking anything anyway but in a different circumstance it could have been very harmful as could the med errors above.

my question.... am i an incompetent nurse and should get out before i hurt someone or should i keep at it? i know part of the problem is the understaffing on our unit which is difficult for even the experienced nurses. that is supposed to be improving in the next couple months. also, i am hoping to feel less stressed with more experience and with moving on from my divorce. it has just gotten to the point that i can't sleep because of worrying about all of this and i am so afraid that i will make a mistake that really harms a pt. but i love my job and really want to do well. please give your honest opinions or experiences you have had. thanks

you are not incompetent, you are new, and the difference is is that with time things will get easier for you. keep double and triple checking things as you have been, that's always a great start. it takes time to establish a routine on a busy floor. is there a senior nurse you can discuss your fears with, or maybe the nurse that did your orientation? since they work your floor, they could give you specific time-management tips that we couldn't. we all make mistakes, but only the good nurses admit them, so that makes you a good nurse, right? keep plugging away, you'll get there, good luck!