I made a med error today

[AuntieRN]

I am a new grad...graduated in August. I am in my fourth week of orientation. I made a med error today. The order was for 0.5mg and I gave 1mg...somehow I missed that I had to break the tablet in half. I did my five rights and looked at the wrong column in our electronic mar and totally missed the 0.5mg vs 1mg. Then I stuck myself with a "clean" needle. I had just drawn up the med I needed, clicked the safety latch on the counter like you are supposed to...then went to take it off the syringe like you are supposed to and the needle slid thru the safety latch somehow....what a day.........sorry for the vent....just trying to let it go....yes I know everyone makes mistakes...my preceptor and the nurses on the floor were wonderful trying to make me feel better with stories of how they have made med errors....bless their little souls they were trying to make me feel better...but instead I ended up crying in front of them all and feeling like a bigger idiot because of it.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

I'm forever cutting myself on glass ampules at work

Go to the baby section of your local supermarket and buy an old-fashioned rubber nipple. It will fit over the top of pretty much any size amp, letting you crack it without touching the glass. I learned this when I was cracking 20 mL amps of etoposide years ago and sliced my thumb pretty deeply.

[Scrubby]

Sorry to hear about your mistake. Don't beat yourself up over it though. Good to hear the nurses at your work are being supportive to you about it.

I have made a couple of med errors, stuck the wrong patients drug chart in the folder and gave a medication they weren't having. Gave the wrong insulin even after checking it with another RN. Also gave IV maxalon two hours early than i should have. I too had a cry about each incident. Lucky for me there was no negative outcome for these patients. It has made me more aware that when we are tired and stressed, we can slip up easily, therefore we should always take the time to be more vigilant.

[AprilRNhere]

Just learn from it and keep going. The fact that it mattered to you shows you're a good nurse and will do everything you can to keep errors from happening.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

So sorry to hear about your error. I don't know if this will help at all, but here's an old thread that might make you feel a little better, because you're in some very good company:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/med-errors-86200.html