I shouldn't be a nurse

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Feb 5, 2015

I highly recommend you contact your employer's HR dept to see if there is an employee assistance program. If so, make an appt. with a professional to discuss your grief and anger. Whether or not you remain a nurse, you still need to resolve your emotional state. We have all made mistakes.

IVRUS, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2015

Have anyone ever made such a horrible mistake it almost killed someone? I did this week and can not stop thinking about it and feel like I should not even be a nurse! I'm a new nurse and feel like I'm too stupid to be a nurse .

Wow... There is not one person alive who hasn't made a mistake. Did your patient die? Was it a systems error, or operator error?

Systems error: Facility bought from a manufacturer whose saline vials, and insulin vials where the same size, same coloring of letters, the only difference is the words themselves. In a hurry, the nurse flushed the saline lock with insulin, instead of saline.

Operator error: Nurse didn't read the words on the vial, and gave the drug "thinking" it was saline.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Feb 5, 2015

I highly recommend you contact your employer's HR dept to see if there is an employee assistance program. If so, make an appt. with a professional to discuss your grief and anger. Whether or not you remain a nurse, you still need to resolve your emotional state. We have all made mistakes.

Exactly. You need some help in this time of difficulty.

scarednurse · Feb 5, 2015

It was my own error... I should have asked for help when I wasn't sure what I was doing . I knew it too that's what's really bothering me because I didn't listen to myself at the time. I got help when I realized my mistake but it was almost too late.

The patient did not die but she lost consciousness for what seemed like minutes but it wasn't. She could have died because of my own stupidity I feel awful! The patient is not upset with me, maybe she doesn't remember not too sure but I feel sick whenever I see her and I can't stop thinking about it

SierraBravo · Feb 5, 2015

One the one hand, I'm sorry for what you're going through. We're all human and we all are prone to making mistakes, especially when there are systems issues that can possibly facilitate errors. On the other hand, you need to deal with this and decide if nursing is for you. What scares me is the part where you acknowledged that you weren't sure what you were doing but did it anyway and it caused some harm to a patient. Equally important, you need to deal with that, too, and if you remain a nurse determine how you can prevent that type of situation from ever happening again.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2015

Recognize that you're human and forgive yourself.

You'll get no judgment from me.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2015

((HUGS)) We have ALL made mistakes.....read this thread......https://allnurses.com/nursing-issues-patient/the-face-of-925954.html

RNperdiem, RN · Feb 5, 2015

Many of us have been where you are. It might be useful to turn those feelings of failure into something productive. Make a plan of action targeting where you went wrong. Plan what you would do if/when you find yourself in this same position. Read up on the policy manual related to the problem.

I would not give up after one mistake unless you are the sort of nurse who deliberately does harm(they exist, I read in the news recently about a nurse in Germany responsible for many deliberate deaths).

NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN · Feb 5, 2015

HUGS!!! Definitely contact your Employee Assistance Program! You are clearly in an acute state of shock/anxiety. I can guarantee that you learned a buttload about that situation.

Experience comes in many different forms. This is one of them. Hang in there!! :shy:

Nonyvole, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2015

Tough love bit:

Did you do that on purpose? No?

The only thing that I could even try to fault you for was not asking for help when you were unsure. But...we all do that. We all ignore that little voice in the back of our head that says "maybe I should..."

Not-so-tough-love bit:

How long have you been working as a nurse? I'm guessing only a few months...I'm sure that if you asked, everybody has had a situation like yours. A heart-stopping moment of "oh gosh, I'm going to get fired and sued and end up on the streets..." sheer panic. And what happens? A coworker might get called at home while she's elbow deep in doing something messy on her day off. Nurse manager might give you a bit of a talking to. You might not get assigned the sicker patients again for a few weeks.

I have to echo the suggestion of contacting your employer's EAP. Or, if you don't want to go through them, finding a therapist through your insurance company.

Big hugs and good luck. You'll get through this.

Dorito, ASN, RN · Feb 5, 2015

We've all made mistakes....some little ones, some bigger ones and we've also ALMOST made mistakes. It's part of life, it's part of nursing. you'll get over it as long as you learned something out of it. We've all done it. I've had 35 years of mistakes....but I've also had 35 years of catching others mistakes, intervened before someone went down the tubes, and helped a lot of people pass in to the next world in peace.

You'll get over it....just hold your head up and proudly say "I'm a Nurse".