Med error during code

[Nursethoughts123]

Hi everyone ! 
   Here goes nothing. I feel if I write on here and share my story I’ll be able to help someone else as well as feel a little better . I just started working in the ICU in April ( was on med surg for about 10 months before). I’ve always wanted to be a critical care nurse and my dream came true ! I just got off orientation last week, needless to say I’m inexperienced to say the least in this specialty . Still getting used to drips and medications I’m not used to and becoming familiar with doses etc. yesterday at work the census and acuity were so low we sent a nurse home leaving me and two other nurses which of one was the most experienced. A rapid response (Of course ) was called at almost change of shift. I went upstairs and it appeared to be a patient in SVT or a fib RVR sustaining in the 180s . There were already many people in the room . I was trying to ask and figure out what happened to the patient and if they were a potential candidate for the unit . Finally the supervisor said no and they were all set. I went back downstairs and then the phone rang. That patient was immediately coming down to the unit as they were now unstable and there ICD had gone off multiple times . We set up the room and it was a MESS. This patient was at least in SVT for now an hour with no cardiac medications . One nurse was drawing up and preparing meds the other nurse( the charge) was recording and helping with other things and that’s all we had for help. So it was either I stepped up to the plate and took on the role of administration od meds as a novice nurse or this patient was in trouble . To the best of my ability I tried my best . The doc wanted an “amio bolts drip “ he did NOT say IV push 150 mg amio. The nurse preparing the medications handed me a bag of amio, line already primed . I saw the name but failed to look at the dose and programmed the pump after repeating to the doctor the dose of 150 mg bolus. The bag was more than half full when the charge nurse suddenly said this is all wrong who prepared this medication ? I asked what was wrong with it , she said the concentration was wrong and the way it was set up . I was sweating. I had no idea what I did. I said the other nurse handed me the bag. I had programmed the pump to administer the whole bag, just like a bolus, but it was the wrong concentration up. I felt terrible thw nurse was yelling in my face not helping any of the situation I stepped out of the way and said someone else should be taking over the medications . 
overall there were many things wrong with this situation. A) the experienced nurse giving me the medication gave me the wrong bag , b) I failed to double check the dose, and c) I should have stepped back knowing I was the novice nurse & volunteered to help with someonthing else . Lesson learned . Luckily it was caught so early no harm was done . But I can’t help but shake this anxiety . At the end of the day I know I just need to move on and take it as a huge learning experience. 
Thanks for listening . 

[Squidpdx, CNA, LPN]

Thank you for sharing your story! I think we've all made mistakes and felt out of our depth. I can definitely relate. It sounds like you learned from this and most of the time that's the best we can do after a mistake.