I send pt home with heplocks!!

[luce2008]

I am a new nurse, sencond week on floor. I was like on a swing today. I was very proud of myself that I maintained this very combatitve and confused elderly pt safe stay on the floor and kept myself sefe from his hitting. Later I gave discharge instruction to the family, and they were very happy. Then after my preceptor told my that nurse manager called for I send pt home with heplocks in his arm, I felt so bad like I could not do things right, dumb, and incompetent. I am getting very nervous, thinking about if what will happen to my preceptor and to me, and questioning if I can be a good nurse at all. Will this episode cause the hopsital ask me to leave? I heard that during orientation they can let a orientee go for any reason they have, is it true?

[belfry]

no worries! as a home health/hospice, we see stuff like that all the time...usually the patient is so eager to get home the hospital nurse is rushed and forgets...

Beth

(psst..bethany, is that you? miss you on the mom group!)

[malenurse122879, MSN, RN]

I woulda said.. "um.. oops???" lol they expect us new people to make mistakes... just apologize and hopefully they'll forgive you. Going home with a heplock wont kill the guy so worst case would probably be getting talked to?? then again I'm new too so I may be way off base.

[Ultra Violet]

do you want to hear the stupid thing i did? i'm a new grad working about 3 1/2 months now. about my first to 2nd week off orientation, i started the shift off with a discharge and 4 pts. i have to admit that i am not real comfortable with discharges -- starting the shift off in a rush. i did not receive any type of report on the d/c -- we now have to give "handoff" reports even on a d/c. anyway, the pt was deaf. he was going back to a home for the deaf so being picked up by ambulance. i went in to d/c his hep lock, go over his belongings, and help him get dressed. (i should have just left him in a johnny i later learned.) he gestured to me about his foley catheter. in my head i thought, he is right, this foley needs to come out. not!!! it is so unlike me not to check with someone and worse yet not to check the order, but i was so green that i just thought he was right. i d/c'd the foley. a day or so later, my nm needed to speak with me. i knew what it was for some reason. i had that gut feeling after i did it that i should have checked. she did not make a big deal out of it at all. i offered to call the family who was upset to apologize, but she said no need in this case. the pt did have to come back to the er to have another foley put in, and i felt terrible about that. he has a neurogenic bladder. big lesson learned. i felt to stupid, but had to shake it off as it is the type of thing that can bash your confidence.