I know that to some this may not make a lot of since cause knowing me I jumped everywhere but I just needed to go some where where I could just say something about my experience
OK so yesterday was the worst day so far of my short nursing Career. I am a newer grad (have been working as a nurse since March 06) and have only been working in my hospital since Aug so I am being precepted. well to make a long story short, yesterday I made a med error where I gave a pt another pt's meds. Now once I realized my mistake I went to my preceptor and informed her what I had done, as 3 of the meds could really have affected the pt. I knew I was going to get into crap you don't make an error like that and expect it to be swept under the rug right. Well the next thing I know the director of my unit is at the nursing station yelling at me with all the other staff around. Now my hospital is supposed to be a "blame free" yeah I didn't feel supported or anything to be yelled at in front of other staff (which I may add trying very hard to hold back tears) I am upset at myself I am scared for my pt I am now feeling very attacked as my director is still yelling and telling me that i am going to be written up.
Now I will say it took a lot of courage to admit to my mistake and this situation I can honestly say Will make me think twice about doing that again and to me that is not a good thing at all. I am very angry at how the whole situation was handled. yes I expected to get in crap i made a mistake but I am still trying to figure out how it went from my preceptor right to the director of my unit bypassing the charge nurse and unit managers. on top of that I am made that in a place that is supposed to be blame free I am now on probation, have something in my permanent file, and now will not be able to transfer to another unit for 6 months. I do not feel that i am trusted - which is something I know to expect and something that i will need to earn back I just wish the whole thing was handled different. Part of me would like to go and talk to the director and let her know how this whole situation affected me but i already know I am sitting on a thin ledge and doing this could push me right off of it.
anyways thanks to anyone who actually read this any type of feedback would be greatly appreciated.
As it was said before you aren't the first nurse to make a med error and you won't be the last. Yes you were brave to admit that you made a mistake. The way it was handled was wrong. What example is the director setting for future nurses or prospective clients?
Make an appointment with your superviosor and the person that made the rude remakrs and treated you like a fool. Let them know point blank you are human and will not tolerate that kind of disrespect. You made a mistake an honest mistake. You are willing to accept accountiblity for your actions but you are not willing to be treated like a fool in front of your peers.
as long as you do it professionally, it wouldn't be wrong to let your director know this.
you made a mistake, you owned up to your mistake, you did your best to make amends (what could be done).
she had no business reprimanding you, let along yelling at you, in public. and really, she souldn't have "yelled" at you at all.
it wouldn't be wrong for you to approach her in private (or maybe with your preceptor, but not in public), after you are no longer upset, and say something like "i know i made a mistake, and i will do whatever i need to do in order to remediate. however, in the future, i would really appreciate it if you pulled me aside and spoke to me in private about things like this."
i think this is very good advice.
just a thought, but you might also consider telling the director you realize how the error got made, and you would be willing to share the lesson with other nurses/students so the whole incident can result in a safer unit, and salvage something positive out of an unfortunate error.
I'm so sorry you are going through this. Your director was just plain wrong to talk to you that way. Having just made a huge med error myself (and informed my nurse manager. Otherwise, no one would have ever known) I would have been devastated if they yelled at me. Good luck to you. You are a good, caring nurse. Our profession needs you.
I know i am not the first nor will I be the last nurse to make a mistake nor will this be my last med mistake that I ever make. I just need to take a hard look at how I do my meds and find a better way of handing them out.
it sounds like the system needs to be changed. unfortunately mistakes are going to happen because we are human. i am glad the patient was okay. if this is the only mistake you make in your career it would be rare indeed.
the director was wrong to confront you as was done. it will make it hard for others who make mistakes to want to come forward. she did more damage than you did imho.
don't beat yourself up. accept, learn from it and move on.
the director needs to look harder at the system that allows mistake like this to happen.
i would agree with this statement completely. my unit uses computerized charting ... which at times could be a whole different form of rant :)... one of the things that i am struggling with is not having a paper mar. my unit uses med carts as well as meds from the pixus (sp?) none of the meds have the pts names on them they come from the pharmacy with the drug name and dose thats it, so there isn't really anything to compare my med list to. and this is one of the things that i got yelled at regarding the 5 rights. there was really nothing to compare the name and meds to i thought i had the right pt and walked into the wrong room -the other pt was in the next door. i have learned from this and will see if i can print up a copy of my pt's mars in the future.
I am 100% agree with the posters above. don't beat yourself too much about it. focus on your orientation. remember that event as a reminder, you don't want to be the kind of nurse like your preceptor. I think when your orientation is over you can complain all you want. be brave, you are almost there:smokin:
Danigirl, let me say I am proud of you for doing a difficult, scary, but ethical thing in reporting your med error. I am sorry your actions were so wrongly received by your DON, who, in my humble opinion, is a poor example of a leader and stupid to boot. In a more supportative atmosphere you could talk to your Director and tell her how you were made to feel being yelled at in front of other staff. Not to mention the total lack of support of the "no blame" policy. I have a gut feeling, you will stick things out for awhile, just to get more experience and prove to the unit you can do the job, but, one of these days, we will read that you have moved on. Please file this experience away as a learning and growing exercise. Remember, the golden rule and treat another new nurse with more compassion when you have a few years under your belt and the "newbie" makes an error. I wish you well, you are what we need in nursing, an ethical, caring, kind, thoughtful, and motivated individual.
Might I suggest coming in early, running a copy of the patients med sheets off, using a red marker to mark a slash across the face of the sheet, but not making it difficult to read. Take this copy with you to the med room to remove meds from the Pxysis, crossing off the time as you complete each one. Double check with the preceptor, and then give the meds. At the end of the shift make sure you file this sheet in your locker for future reference. We usualy kept them for several months just in case there was a problem, before we threw them away. We were told this was not a violation of HIPPA, since we were taking care of the patient, and keeping this information in a safe, locked locker for a short period for future reference was not a violation either. If I am wrong, then at least two whole facilities who do things this way are wrong too. Maybe this will give you a better reference and you can mark on these sheets to remind you if there is something you need to include in your charting. Hope this helps.
:)... one of the things that i am struggling with is not having a paper mar. my unit uses med carts as well as meds from the pixus (sp?) none of the meds have the pts names on them they come from the pharmacy with the drug name and dose thats it, so there isn't really anything to compare my med list to. and this is one of the things that i got yelled at regarding the 5 rights. there was really nothing to compare the name and meds to i thought i had the right pt and walked into the wrong room -the other pt was in the next door. i have learned from this and will see if i can print up a copy of my pt's mars in the future.
MrsMommaRN
507 Posts
As it was said before you aren't the first nurse to make a med error and you won't be the last. Yes you were brave to admit that you made a mistake. The way it was handled was wrong. What example is the director setting for future nurses or prospective clients?
Make an appointment with your superviosor and the person that made the rude remakrs and treated you like a fool. Let them know point blank you are human and will not tolerate that kind of disrespect. You made a mistake an honest mistake. You are willing to accept accountiblity for your actions but you are not willing to be treated like a fool in front of your peers.