Mistake on orientation..please help

[MommyRN89]

I am in my 7th week of orientation at my new job in ICU. I have a few years of experience but not in ICU. The other day as I was leaving, I gave a med that had been ordered that day, Tylenol Q8. Since it was a new order, the times for which it had been scheduled after the first dose were not moved for 8 hours from the first dose. So I tried to re-time them. However, I didn't notice that the rest of the times for administration had not been adjusted as well. When I gave report to the night nurse, I let her know about the new med but not the timing. The next morning, she tells me that I caused her to make a med error. Due to the fact that I moved only the first dose and not the others, she gave 2 doses Q6 instead of Q8. She said she filed a report about the incident. I felt horribly and have been kicking myself since..my preceptor brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal and said "it's only Tylenol and the patient wasn't harmed" but I am not the kind of person to make these kinds of mistakes and accept them. I can't imagine causing a patient harm as that is the opposite of my reason for becoming a nurse. I strive for excellence especially when it comes to my job.. I hate that that happened while I was orientation too. I have obviously learned from this but I can't seem to move past it. I don't want to lose my new job either..any advice is greatly appreciated..

[Qing]

I think this nurse was upset you didn't write the adjusted times for her. And yes, as others have said she is trying to throw you under the bus. You didn't cause the error so brush it off. Just be wary of people like that and always cover your butt. It doesn't matter how nice or great the person you are working with... just cover yourself from things like this. Not everyone is going to be accommodating in writing new times for the medication, but greatly appreciated if you do. You will get more confident and stronger from experiences like this. Take it as a learning experience that some expect more from you, but you are not obligated to put in the new times for her. She should have picked that up and realized the timing would not match... then reschedule the next dose.