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Discussion

I almost got kicked out of my program from ONE mistake!

Long story short, I almost passed a med to a patient without the instructor directly present.

Short story long, one of my postpartum patients was in pain and asked for a percocet to help relieve the pain. I told my instructor about the complaint and she went to the medcart and withdrew the narcotic and gave it to me to hold. Meanwhile, she was documenting on the computer another medication withdrawl for another student.

Me, not thinking went into the patients room and opened the med and put it in her hand. My instructor walks in and sees me and takes it back to properly document and administer.

Today, I was called to the directors office and had to recall the incident. I confessed the truth to what had happened and was told in lieu of dismissal, I had to write a paper on the Patient Safety Goals and was suspended from attending this weeks clinical, which I think is a fair punishment.

I just had to get this out so it's not stuck on my head all semester. The only thing I'm worried about is this somehow biting in the butt in the long run... which something tells me it will. :(

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    • Featured Replies

    You were actually pretty lucky. In my nursing schools students were kicked out of the program for leaving the room without the rails up.

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    • Author
    You were actually pretty lucky. In my nursing schools students were kicked out of the program for leaving the room without the rails up.

    Yeah, I definitely am and I expressed that as well as the negative ramifications of my actions. I knew trying to deflect responsibility to someone else would only hurt me so I just faced the music.

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    Not only could they kick you out, but you could be prevented from ever obtaining licensure should you find a school to re-enroll. You cannot practice nursing without a license.

    THINK about what you are doing. I'm not trying to be rough, but be more careful from now on. It's nice that they gave you a second chance.

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    • Experts

    You know you have to be more careful now because they have already given you your chance. Take the time to slow down and think about everything before you act. Good luck.

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    • Author
    You know you have to be more careful now because they have already given you your chance. Take the time to slow down and think about everything before you act. Good luck.

    I am... they recommended I see someone in regards to getting diagnosed for ADD or ADHD, which I'm pretty sure I have.

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    I highly doubt you have ADD/ADHD, lol....pretty stupid for them to even make such an assessment, that would make me pretty offended! We're humans, we make mistakes! What's important is that you learn from it. Now that you've gone through this, I bet you'll NEVER do anything like that again.

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    • Author
    I highly doubt you have ADD/ADHD, lol....pretty stupid for them to even make such an assessment! We're humans, we make mistakes! What's important is that you learn from it. Now that you've gone through this, I bet you'll NEVER do anything like that again.

    Nope never... this could have literally ended my career before it started. Like I said earlier, I had to get this out of my head so it doesn't stew on my mind and affect my future performance.

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    • Guides

    People make mistakes. You learn and you grow. I'll bet you'll be ultra careful about meds from now on, right?

    I'dve kicked you out if you had just gone to do it because the instructor "already okayed the med", or "I didn't think the pt should wait, I knew what I was doing" type attitude. But, you owned up to it, acknowledged you just weren't thinking, and took responsibility. That is the kind of student you give another chance to.

    Good luck in the future!

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    I'dve kicked you out if you had just gone to do it because the instructor "already okayed the med", or "I didn't think the pt should wait, I knew what I was doing" type attitude. But, you owned up to it, acknowledged you just weren't thinking, and took responsibility. That is the kind of student you give another chance to.

    I agree completely. I think it speaks well to your professionalism and integrity that you owned up to your mistake. I honestly don't think that this will come back to haunt you. Had you tried to cover it up, yes, it would have bitten you on the backside. But you did the right thing. Frankly, I would be proud to have you for a student.

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    I really sympathize with you because honestly it's a mistake I could see myself making (but thanks to this thread I will be extra careful). Most of us are exhausted and stressed out from clinicals and the huge amount of studying and paperwork we have to do. When you are sleep deprived, overwhelmed and nervous all the time it can really affect you psychologically. Not that that's an excuse but really... I feel as though I am under a microscope ALL the time in clinical and I can't always be perfect!!! People DO make mistakes and part of nursing school is learning from them so we will be excellent nurses when we graduate.

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    • Experts

    Good for you for taking responsibility for your mistake. Fortunately it was a minor error--it could have been far worse.

    You lucked out by only having to write a paper. Write it without complaint and learn from this experience, because I doubt your school will be as forgiving next time. But I think after what happened, you'll probably be extra vigilant about passing meds from here on out ;)

    Good luck with the rest of school!

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    Me, not thinking

    That's not a good thing...good thing the instructor saw you do it too. Because if you claim you gave the med, how does the patient know what it is you gave them? You could have pulled the old switcharoo and given them a Tylenol, and you take your 1 percocet home(not like it'll give someone a high or make them oober happy lol). Not to mention the whole 5 rights thing.

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