I don't know if this has been discussed before so please bear with me. I would like to know(those that can be honest)if any of you have ever given a patient the wrong medication. If you did, how did it play out and how did it effect you.
I've been a nurse since "05" and it has happened to me once and I felt sooooo bad, but fortunately the medicince that I mistaken gave was close to the same drug class as the medication he should have gotten and he didn't have a reaction.
To make a long story short, patients mom found out when I was calling to tell her that he was out of his medication and I quoted what he received and she said that's not what he was suppose to get and after really looking, I said your right ma'am. I could have kicked myself in the rear:o, the patients mom is a nurse so she didn't get as upset with me as she could have because she said she knows it can happen.
On two other occasions, it was caught before anything was given. I don't feel this makes me not a good nurse, I know I just have to more aware of what I'm doing.
It happens to everyone...the good side is once it happens you won't make the same mistake twice...we are all human
I totally agree. I work in LTC and I think it is easier not to make a mistake since you know your patients - sometimes for years - and you know their meds. But I've seen nurses pull without looking at the MAR and find out too late that something has changed. I did that once...well I did look at the MAR for the routine meds, but ASSUMED that my resident was still getting Vicodin prn and I gave it. The order was only good for 7 days and today was day 8. You never forget that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you realize you made an error. Luckily they doctor extended the order since the resident still needed it and luckily I knew that med would not hurt her. Needless to say I have never done that again.
You know it isn't like they make it any easier for you at work...mandation, floating (we have 16 units), short staffing and too much work.
Sometimes, the nurse are so busy or too toxic to handle lots of patient!!!! It's the nurse-patient ratio for crying out loud!!!! Everybody commits mistakes! Be sure not to commit the same mistake twice! I'm not addressing this to you but also to myself!!!
BlessedbyGod
108 Posts
TrudyRN,
It was two different people under different circumstances over different time spans. Thank you to everyone that replied, it has really helped me.
Nursing is not an easy profession but I do love being a nurse.