I am an LPN (graduated in 2005) and I work at a rehab facility. I love my job and the people I work with..... Until recently.......
It was the morning rush, and a patient complained of mild chestpain. I don't know why, but I didn't think of checking his mar for an anti-anginal, which he had. Later, the doctor comes in and talks to him and then I overheard the doctor talking angrily at the nursing station, telling the head RN and our pharmacist my mistake. I even heard he told it to our physiotherapist too.
I am very disheartened, this happened last friday and now it is thursday and I have been feeling so depressed about it. The patient is ok, actually now they aren't sure if his chest pains were heart or muscle related, but now I am questioning everything. I've cried myself to sleep a few times and now am seriously thinking about a career change. I can't believe I missed what should have been a basic nursing instinct - pain? Give a painkiller. Angina? Give an antianginal. I have to admit I've become very comfortable with my job and became careless, but what if the patient had worse effects from my neglect? I am starting to think nursing isn't for me.
I'm very disappointed at myself and took the cowardly way out today - I called in sick. I just don't feel like I can face the patient, or the doctor, or the RN and the pharmacist. I know I have lost their respect as a good nurse. I can't fully describe how I'm feeling right now - I feel angry and disappointed at myself and everytime I think about going back to work I get anxious. What's wrong with me? :-C I feel so depressed. Maybe I should change careers before I kill someone.:-C
I feel bad that you are so upset because you must be a great nurse to take this to heart the way you have. Learn from the parts of this that make you feel bad and forgive yourself. Your other patients need a nurse that cares as much as you do!
Please do not continue to beat yourself up about this! You made an honest mistake and you learned from that mistake. Now pick yourself up, brush yourself off and get back to work with your head held high!!!!
One way to deal with the doc and nurse manager is to approach them first- let them know how it affected you, and how you'll not repeat it in the future.... and gently mention that if they ever have concerns about your care that you'd like them to come to you :) Be approachable... (not that you aren't) and go with the old saying "the best defense is a good offense" ....that isn't always useful, but this sounds like a situation where it could be :)
Hang in there- we've all missed things and felt horrible.
My mistake last week, I gave 80 mg of lasix at 0900 instead of 1800. Don't ask me how I did. I cried the whole day, it was on a pt who's family was discussing hospice. I felt terrible but i disclosed it to them and told them i was sorry, they were consoling me. The pt did not experience any ill effects and sctually we learned she was terribly dry cause she did not pee. I want u to read this article, its ok to say sorry, you will get a clear conscience Then you can move forward.If you can't get it to load google Michigan saying sorry. It's from 2009 but I feel it can still be pertinent. Hold your head up, you are human. www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534345,00.h...
My only ever med error was the same exact thing, I gave a 2100 med at 0800. It was Lovenox. I beat myself up for weeks. But I learned to triple check and then check again. I am a better nurse for having made that error.
Thanks so much for the replies everyone, I felt a little bit better after reading it.
The RN and MD did not approach me about it after it happened, but I still feel so disappointed in myself.
I'm going back to work on monday and wondering if I should bring it up. I'm not even sure if they thought about it - it's gonna be 1 1/2 weeks since the incident on monday. I don't know..... I guess I am being too hard on myself. But then again, people's lives are in my hands.
Thanks again everyone. I'm glad I found this site.
i think it must be very hard for both of you to went through the pain right?I read the post you guys have written and it touches me a lot. I wonder what would have happen if i were you...I think I might just like you, crying hopeless too. Once again the post u wrote alerted me how important it is to be careful while handling medicine. Perhaps it will be the reminder of mine always in my nursing life even though now i'm just a student nurse.
The doctor is an ass for shaming you that way. If I had a dollar for every time I called a doctor before I realized I already had a PRN (when I was new), I'd be able to buy dinner at Outback. Cripes. Nurses are busy enough, of course you're going to make mistakes. Yes, it sucks and you feel bad, but it's not worth beating yourself up over forever.
I once overdosed a patient on coumadin. I felt horrible about it, but the patient didn't suffer any lasting effects and you know what? I'll NEVER do that again. My manager told me that she believes that sometimes these things are good (especially when they don't cause real harm) because we learn so much about what not to do from them.
I agree, you shouldn't continue to beat yourself up about it. Luckily the Pt was not harmed in any way. At least, you show compassion and remorse for what happened, pretty sure many people wouldn't be phased about it. Give it a little time and people will forget about it and start talking about someone else. You've been a nurse for this long, you can continue. Don't change your career over this. Feel better soon!
Nobody is perfect. The doctor that openly criticized you has made mistakes too, in spite of his lengty training. He is no more than a human, just like you. He surely could improve his nurse side manner but then again, the dr. is not perfect.
What is the point of beating your self up repeatedly over a mistake, gaining anything from it? OK, smack yourself one more time... was it useful?
Get out of the punishment mode and into the learning mode instead. What did we learn from this? What will I do differently next time?
Also learn how to deal with mistakes, not to assume you are bad, how to take a deep breath, think about what is the best route or solution, consider asking for advise or ideas, and the cherry on top of the cake: what can I learn from this and tuck it under my belt and call it experience.
Nobody is perfect, even if you never hear them advertise their mistakes, which is too bad, since this occupation could really use the sharing of each others mistakes and what we learned from them, an honest sisterhood that will benefit both patients and nurses.
Even the top boss has made mistakes, and will make mistakes in the future too.
Thank you for sharing, I will take your experience and learn from it too.
Take a deep breath my fellow LPN, let it go. Here, a ((((hug)))).
You are OK. It they want somebody that is perfect, they will have to interview God for the job. ( hahah.. good luck with that).
Done, now move on, we are always learning something new, one way or another.
Think of this as a message from up above to not do it again, nothing happened to the pt. We all look back and think "how did I not see that?" I think that this bothering you so much means you really are a good nurse!
I would say buck up buttercup, put your big girl panties on and deal with it. I have not been a nurse for long, but I am constantly trying to tell myself not to dwell on the mistakes - learn from them and move on... I have found that dwelling on them has caused me to make MORE mistakes, and WORSE mistakes at that.
SweetseRN
199 Posts
I feel bad that you are so upset because you must be a great nurse to take this to heart the way you have. Learn from the parts of this that make you feel bad and forgive yourself. Your other patients need a nurse that cares as much as you do!