Messed up in Clinical

[BSN89]

I am hoping to find some guidance. I made a major error at my first clinical semester and have been obsessing since. The pt room (my 3rd day) had contact precautions, the 3 individuals I had seen going in and out of the room were not donned appropriately, the nurse I shadowed was not wearing even gloves...I went in without a gown on and only gloves but did not make contact as a fellow student caught me and yelled at me, in front of the patients rooms and nurses then promptly ran to our instructor before I could even doff and get to her. As soon as I had completed talking to my patient and doffed, I went straight to her for clarification. Apparently the pt room was "at will" contact as it was a VRE concern..regardless, I should have used my head and appropriately donned. For the life of me, I cannot believe I did not think this through and don correctly.

I am terrified I am not doing well enough at clinical now and wont get through now. Is this error going to be the end for me? I am a 4.0 student and have only weeks left of this first semester. I am not up to par with the timeliness of my charting just yet either, as I am trying to work out the balance of time management with assessing, caring, vital taking, errand running, and helping in any way I can.

I am just so distraught I have worked so hard to get to this point and seemingly stumble so bad and am holding back tears constantly. The other student degraded me in front of the instructor so badly and said I placed other patients in danger.. She follows me every where trying to catch me in errors and im just terrified of clinical now. The kicker is she made the exact same error the week before and a nurse told her to put a gown on, she never reported it to our instructor! She also went into the room without a gown on again after she tried to get me in trouble! I am just beside myself and am doubting I can get through this after these mistakes..the charting and missing placing a gown on before going into the contact precaution room, which I take full responsibility for..despite what I had seen others do just have be petrified I am not meeting expectations and am a liability and not up to standard. I am learning but do not understand how I could make such an error..I am usually immensely cautious.

Any guidance would be so very appreciated, thank you.

To add, I have approached my instructor to discuss my concerns..she told me she thinks I am placing too much pressure on myself..I am trying to be everywhere and do every thing perfectly, but that is just how I operate. She has not told me I have things that are detrimentally concerning but I fear with being the only one in the group she is aware of making errors..I fear I am in a compromised spot for passing. The fear I have is indescribable and I know it is effecting my clinical experience. I want so badly to do well.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

You all make fantastic points...I guess what terrified me was my classmate stating I placed other patients in danger and my instructor did say if I were an employee at this hospital, I could have been terminated.

Oh for crying out loud. I've been a nurse for 11 years and I have never, once, heard of any employee being terminated- or even being disciplined- for forgetting to don PPE in a contact patient's room. And, as I mentioned previously, contact precautions are gloves for entering the patient's room and gown/gloves for patient contact. Since you were just talking to the patient, gloves is fine.

[Lipoma, BSN, RN]

I sense your classmate is jealous of you. I'm in my 3rd semester and all throughout clinical I am so busy I don't even see what my classmates are doing unless they see me and ask for my help and vice versa. It sounds like they have WAY to much time on their hand and need to attend to their patient's needs and stop hovering over you.

This is not a major error, trust me.

[DextersDisciple, BSN, RN]

1) How were you placing other pts in danger? As long as you washed your hands before and after pt contact this covers your bases. When they say "at will" it sounds like it for YOUR safety.

2) if it was an "at will" isolation how could you be fired? I think your instructor was just trying to scare you just so you'd be by the books as a new grad.

3) Of course she isn't going to report herself not wearing a gown. She only wants positive attention- so she tattles on you.

4) just because you don't see your classmates receiving help or being checked in on does not mean you are the only one. I'd be surprised if they were NOT receiving help.

I say these things because your level of overreaction and anxiety is brewing from these irrational thoughts. I used to be like you before nursing school. I took everything to heart. Please do what I did- talk to a professional about your anxiety. Therapy and sometimes medication can singicantly change your life and the way you think. Get it under control BEFORE it's time for your actual nursing career to begin.

Best of luck to you, I hope you feel better.

[BSN89]

You make such valid points, thank you. I could not agree more, I intend to mention this when I speak with her..as it is beyond concerning that no one else seems to have the time to constantly hover over me..nit picking everything I do.

Thank you for the assurance, as well!

[BSN89]

This response is of such immense reassurance, thank you TONS. All of the responses are, of course...but you are 100% right about everything. I am beyond thankful I posted here for guidance. I was treated for anxiety related issues some years ago and received therapy to work through a lifetime of trauma, though I was cleared by my provider and had enjoyed years with a healthy state of function.

I am discouraged to realize I may be experiencing a bit of recurring symptoms, likely exacerbated by the strains and pressures of performing to the highest of my expectations, minimal sleep, poor nutrition, severe loss of family time, and pushing myself with minimal self-care. That fact that others around me are noticing a bit as well, is concerning. Though everyone jokes about my freak out mode, as it is often comical at times..it is difficult to deal with, as you can relate...I also take EVERYTHING to heart and I do not want it to effect my ability to work or my interpersonal relationships. I will be sure to seek out appropriate avenues of help in managing the anxiousness.

Thank you again.

[walkerrn2015]

Sounds like this class mate of yours does have major issues. don't worry about it! you got this!

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Even though your classmate appears to be a know-it-all, she is in fact insecure. Her way of dealing with her insecurities is to point out everyone else's faults in order to make herself look better.

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

You're fine. This is definitely not a major error. A student in my program mixed up her patients and almost gave the wrong meds to the wrong patient, the only reason she didn't was because her instructor caught it.... that's what I would call a major error. This same student also yanked a Foley out without deflating the balloon and is no longer in the program. Not wearing a gown into a contact room isn't even close to a major issue.

I think the other student needs to mind her own business. It's not her job to follow you around - doesn't she have her own patients to look out for? Honestly, I would approach the faculty and administration about her behavior because it is absolutely unacceptable. And I'd stand up for myself and tell her to back the hell off. Who does she even think she is?

[Emergent, RN]

I'm wondering, is the class aware of your 4.0 grade average? I had great grades in school and unfortunately it became known because I had no idea that I should keep them secret. A couple of underperforming students tried to take their revenge.

It sounds like your nursing instructor has your back. As far as getting terminated for this, that's an absurd statement.

Give yourself time, concentrate on improving your weaknesses and try to relax.

[mommy_love8626]

I hugely agree with everyone else that has commented. That was not considered a "major" mistake at all, you are putting entirely too much pressure on yourself, you would NOT be terminated for something like that. Maybe if you consistently showed poor hygiene and inappropriate precautions ALL OF THE TIME, but for one instance, no. You are going to have to let go a bit of your perfectionist tendencies for this profession. Definitely want to be as safe as you can be for you and the patient but things aren't always going to go how you think they should. You've got this! You sound smart, relax. We are students for a reason

[BSN89]

You all are beyond wonderful, I can not thank you enough for your responses. I feel such a great deal better and have had much better days thus far. Caring for patients in the bed side and hospital setting is incomparable to anything else and I could never think to peruse any other career now.

Emergent, RN...yes I have now realized I need to keep my scores to myself, it is a sad realization but very necessary..I hear comments all of the time despite never really talking about my grades unless repeatedly asked. I have now refused to discuss any testing or over all grades. It did appear as though she was excited to discover the A student making an error and to promptly run to our instructor and the few friends she has.

It is eye opening now, to get a better feel of the flow and what life on the floor is really like...I realized now it is not quite the detrimental error I initially thought..I legitimately thought my future was over. If anything, this experience has elicited a great deal of extra caution and vigilance, which is welcomed.

Emma Jay, those errors are alarming, though I do see now how easily an error can occur so each step needs to be thoughtfully reflected on and planned out. I do not see how one could really move past such potentially harmful mistakes. Thank you for sharing.

I am at the half way point and my instructor actually told me that I am very knowledgeable. I asked her if there was anything I could work to improve on and she was very kind and encouraging and told me I was doing well, so I am feeling much better about my prospects. Now to immerse myself in finals studying and finish strong!! There is even a bit of looming sadness that the end is near, I feel there is not enough learning time but remind myself this is Fundamentals, more will come next semester.

Thanks again, everyone.

[MKay77, BSN, RN]

Please don't feel bad I am a student and have made errors too, it is a learning experience. One thing I can say is you will see nurses doing thing that aren't by the book, as a student do as you were taught. If you don't know what to do ask the nurse or your instructor. You will be fine and this is just a small bump in the road and one of many mistakes you will make. Patient safety is always number one.