Would anyone else like to share their screw ups, major or minor, in the hopes that other new grads will avoid them? Maybe this can be a sticky if there is interest.
-- Asking a "provocative" questions during orientation class. I wanted to know why nurses were required to give report in English only (even though the report is one on one). Angry answer: "Because it's the policy here and this is America and we speak English."
-- Assuming that I had lost the MAR and telling my preceptor and getting dressed down a little. Actually, the unit clerk had taken it to write orders.
-- Dumping half a bag of Lidocaine down the drain. Unused drugs go in the drug disposal can.
-- You know those dry antibiotics that you mix in the IV bag by snapping open the little bottle. Well, I forced solution into the little bottle, mixed it, then removed the insertion cap before pushing the fluid back into the bag. I was completely discombobulated about what to do. If you ever do this, either waste it or clamp with neck of the insert tube so you can get the solution back in the bag.
-- A wife of a patient came in the morning before work to see how he was doing. I was too frank and said he'd hadn't slept and had been in a lot of pain. Her face fell flat and I gave her a bad start to her day. I really could have put a better spin on this bad news.
