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Discussion

I keep making small mistakes. Feeling hopeless

I’ve been in L&D for 5 months now and before that I was a confident med surg nurse. Now in L&D I keep making small mistakes that make me question my skills. We hang LR as a main line for pitocin and I know this but somehow was not paying attention and put the pitocin as the main line. I unhooked the patient before I left as we stopped the pit but I still had the flow backwards. The next nurse hooked her up and decided to flush the pit line to rid the old fluid. Not knowing I had it backward she flushed what she though was pit but was actually the LR and ended up blousing the patient with pitocin. The small mistake I made caused no harm but I feel like the worst nurse there has ever been. My unit makes me feel like they are perfect and no one else makes mistakes. I’m feeling very hopeless. 

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    • Featured Replies

    We all make mistakes. The key is to learn from them.

    Your patient came to no harm. That you have a conscience about your mistake is good - it shows you care and indicates that you are consientious, but really, don't beat yourself up about it.

    It's normal to feel insecure in a new job. I felt it in my last job change 12 years ago and I had at that point over 20 years experience behind me, so really, don't give up hope.

    No nurse is perfect and the know-alls always stuff up at some point. Pride comes before a fall. If your unit isn't very welcoming can you discuss this with a manager? Did you have an orientation period? Are there more pleasant members of staff that you can go to when you need advice rather than relying on the know-alls?

    You say you were a very confident med-surg nurse. You just need to find your feet and you'll be confident again. If after a time you feel you've made a bad move, move on and put this job down to experience. If it really makes you miserable it doesn't have to be forever. That you were confident in your last job makes me feel the fault is probably not with you. Give yourself a bit more of a chance.

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    You've only been there five months, you're still getting the hang of things. And now that you made that mistake, you'll NEVER make it again. You said no harm came to the patient so you can chock that one up to a straight learning experience and move on. Don't get discouraged. By your own admission you were a confident med-surg nurse, but if you could really think back to when you were five months in, you probably weren't then.

    None of us like the transition from competent to new. Whether it's because you change jobs, roles, fields, etc. We all like to feel competent, confident and in control. We lose a bit of that when we move, but that's also how we grow. Give yourself time and you will find your rhythm once again. Good luck!

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    • Experts

    Yes to what everyone has said so far. You know from your med surg experience that you’ll probably never make the pit icon mistake again!

     No matter how much experience you had, any transition to a new specialty can rattle any experienced nurse. Keep reminding yourself that you ARE a good nurse and just keep learning, you’ll eventually feel comfortable in your new role. Good luck!

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    Take notes that yo and refer back to, read them before getting started to remind you of what to do and forgive yourself.

     

     

     

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