I've been an RN for 3 years and I just made my first medication error.

jayme_lee1985 · Jul 29, 2009

ADD? I don't know...it seems like medications for that upset all sorts of neurohormonal processes in a body.

Hubby's girl · Aug 2, 2009

So many days are busy...that is the norm now. Management wants us to do it all--and get out on time. Just not possible!

Age1 · Aug 24, 2009

slooow it down. and just take your time. :)

divaERnurse · Sep 8, 2009

Hi,

I can understand where you are coming from. I have been a nurse for 3 years and i made my first med error on Friday and I have only been working there for about a month. Its like my heart dropped to the bottom of my feet. The patient wasn't harmed but she could have easily been harmed. Right after it happened, I did not even want to be at work anymore. I just wanted to quit right then and there. I asked all the whys, hows, whats. After i talked to my family and friends and my supervisor, I feel much better. Tomorrow I go back to work and I am nervous that fingers will be pointed at me as the new nurse that made a med error.

Anyway, hang in there. I am trying to do the same.

minnah08 · Oct 21, 2009

No matter what others soothe me to get me out of the misery, I keep blaming myself for any med error or mistakes I've made. I know this kind of attitude is not helping me at all. But I sometimes think that I have no right to eat good food, enjoy life, or laugh. I feel so rewarded when I see my patients smiling and getting well. I always thought nursing was my career. Now I'm really doubtful. I don't know whether I can survive if I make a critical mistake.

I can, of course, say "You can never be too careful". But errors and mistakes happen. This thought makes me depressed and paranoid.

I hope you overcome your stress and become strong. I will also do my best.

*ac* · Oct 21, 2009

I feel I am far too busy to be as careful as I really should be. A lot of these posts say, slow down, but I really cannot, with my load.

The load has increased so much since I first started 2 years ago, that I often have to prioritize, and just not do certain things, like changing linen, care plan documentation, etc. We are chronically short staffed, and whereas we used to close beds when we were short, there is no such thing now (translation: hospital greed). Some days, in fact most days, all I can do is get the meds out, with the quickest of assessments, and get pts fed who need it. It is rare that everything is on time, really rare. This is a recipe for error if ever there was one!

tewdles, RN · Oct 22, 2009

You have been given good advice. One of your biggest enemies in administering medications as a nurse is a busy schedule. The nurse who feels pressured to hurry through ANY part of the process is at great risk to make a mistake. So, at the risk of being redundant, slow down, take the time that you need to insure that you are safely administering meds, follow the basic rules...right patient, right med, right time, right route, right dose.

OldnurseRN · Nov 6, 2009

My philosophy is I can't achieve perfection but can aim for excellency. That being said, I'm surprised we don't have more errors when use one computor to look up the MAR (that computer isn't in the med room with the Pyxxis) so we write the meds down. Then we go to the med room to remove them from the Pyxxis. Then we go to the room and scan the nameband and the medication. This procedure does help to not give wrong meds but I think it contributes to missed and late meds.

diane227, LPN, RN · Nov 9, 2009

It is SO HARD to give medications these days. Meds not on the mar, not in the medication system, not in the patients bin, have to call the pharmacy, several interruptions while trying to give meds. It is just too much. It never surprises me at all when med errors are made. It surprises me when more errors are not made.

Do any of you recall the days when we went around in the hall with the medication book and the medication cart to each patient room? Did we have the same number of errors then? It seems like we did not. But I could be wrong. We did have to mix our own meds and IV fluids so perhaps we did. I just remember that when I was in the hall with the cart that people left me alone because I was "passing meds" and they did not bother me for other things until meds were passed. During that time, all I had to concentrate on was my med pass.

tewdles, RN · Nov 9, 2009

It is SO HARD to give medications these days. Meds not on the mar, not in the medication system, not in the patients bin, have to call the pharmacy, several interruptions while trying to give meds. It is just too much. It never surprises me at all when med errors are made. It surprises me when more errors are not made.
Do any of you recall the days when we went around in the hall with the medication book and the medication cart to each patient room? Did we have the same number of errors then? It seems like we did not. But I could be wrong. We did have to mix our own meds and IV fluids so perhaps we did. I just remember that when I was in the hall with the cart that people left me alone because I was "passing meds" and they did not bother me for other things until meds were passed. During that time, all I had to concentrate on was my med pass.

You are really dating us ol' girl!

sharpeimom · Nov 10, 2009

you are really dating us ol' girl!

it is so hard to give medications these days. meds not on the mar, not in the medication system, not in the patients bin, have to call the pharmacy, several interruptions while trying to give meds. it is just too much. it never surprises me at all when med errors are made. it surprises me when more errors are not made.
do any of you recall the days when we went around in the hall with the medication book and the medication cart to each patient room? did we have the same number of errors then? it seems like we did not. but i could be wrong. we did have to mix our own meds and iv fluids so perhaps we did. i just remember that when i was in the hall with the cart that people left me alone because i was "passing meds" and they did not bother me for other things until meds were passed. during that time, all i had to concentrate on was my med pass.

i'm the same vintage as you two ol' girls -- in fact, i'll switch decades friday.

i remember the old meds carts well. it seemed many only had 3 good wheels... the 4th one

was a free agent.

kathy

sharpeimom:paw::paw:

diane227, LPN, RN · Nov 10, 2009

Oh Lord, we are getting old. Remember, we had the narcotics locked up in the bottom cabinet. This was in the day before they locked up valium and stuff like that. I mean doing the count now takes a week, especially when you are using these medication dispensing systems (which does not speed things up for you). And a hundred people coming at you at once.

I remember the time when your nursing assessment for a patient on the med surg floor consisted of a paragraph and that was it. But I had 20 patients. When I went to the ED at the county hospital and became the educator I used to tell all the new nurses "if you can't write a good note, don't write any note. Don't have your name on the chart anywhere". Because with 350 patients a day you just could not get around to everyone. I think back on some of the stuff we did back then and I just wonder how patients survived. But there you have it. You just can't kill some people. If someone comes in and they act like an A I guarantee you they won't die. But you get someone who is sick and they are nice, you better watch out cause they are gonna die of something.

Am I getting too old for this?