I'm so worried.

[Rnhm13]

First day by myself as a nurse for ltc and my anxiety was over the roof!! I had over 20 pts. One screaming ALL day long my name!!! I felt rushed with medication passage. And now I'm scared I made a med error and I can't stop thinking about that. I've told my self I need to slow down next time and avoid distractions (like pt yelling all day LONG!) I get so worried about things like this. Is this feeling normal? Please advise. I won't go back to work until next week, I will have this worry until I go back and feel assure all residents are safe.

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[LindseyRN86]

Take a deep breath. I'm sure you did everything you needed to do. Did you check you 5 rights prior to each administration? If so you probably didn't have a med error. I used to work in ltc and I found distractions made it very easy to make mistakes and distractions happen a lot in any workplace. If you are getting frazzled or interrupted re focus and try your best to remove yourself from the distraction. Most important take care of yourself. REST! If you don't do that the residents suffer. Good luck on your journey.

[misstrinad]

Yes it Is perfectly normal to feel that way. The first day is the worst & most overwhelming. It gets better with time. Even though you feel like there isn't enough time you will do yourself and your residents a favor by taking a few 5 min breaks to collect your self and breath. Get there early your next day and make your self a good cheat sheet. Don't be afraid to ask for help! If seen new nurses who were drowning on their 1st or 2nd day that were able to have a nurse from another unit come for a half hour and help them catch up. Lean on your manager/supervisor if you can for help during your next couple days while you get the hang of things.

It really does get easier and you learn to tune out behavioral yelling (i work on an Alzheimer's unit with tons of behaviors and I used to drive home Still hearing alarms going off in my ears but that only lasted a few weeks)

Good luck!

[Jillybean48]

You will get used to the distractions like the noises. People will always be screaming your name and there will always be buzzers and bells; eventually you just won't hear them unless they are emergencies. But I am a little concerned about the med error. You said you don't go back for a week? Maybe you should call the facility and speak to your supervisor and ask her to check on that. Even if you did make a med error, it would be better for you to self report rather than someone else find it and report you. Also, you didn't say what kind of med it was so I don't know what kind of danger we are talking about the patient being in, there's a big difference in med errors... are we talking about forgetting to give a dose of Milk of Magnesia or did you give too much Coumadin? One is much more dangerous than the other. And yes, this feeling is normal but it will get easier as you get more comfortable. Good luck.