mistakes made during your first year...

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I have been on my "own" now for 1 1/2 months and was just wondering if anybody out there has made any mistakes. I have been beating myself up over some things and just wondering if anyone else has done the same?

pasha

Specializes in Med Surg, ER, OR.

I know I have made many mistakes so far and have many more to go. Just the other day i forgot to tell a nurse something in report and felt so bad. I come off of orientation Sept 15th and will just have to adjust to the change. We are all going to make great nurses and have to keep each other pumped up!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Stepdown, Vascular ICU.

New grad RN here, 8 mo. anniversary. I've adminitered the meds to the wrong pt...forgot to hang antibiotics...gave a whole tab instead of a half.....went the whole 12hrs w/o charting...educated the pt on the wrong info...the list goes on and on. Most if not all of these were minor, and fortunately all of my pt. (and I for that matter) survived! I've learned from all of these, it usually take one time for me. But I've come to realize that you truly don't get it until you've experienced it whether it be a med error or experiencing your 1st pt death (which I have not as of yet). Allow yourself to recognize that it's normal to make mistakes, heck we wouldn't be human if we didn't!

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Those half dose at bedtime insulins are a killer, especially if you are not used to second shift....

always recheck your insulins.

any advice?

i dont think i have seen this yet, going to 2nd next month, can someone explain?

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Sometimes due to history of low BG's in the am, someone will have an order for 1/2 the sliding scale dose or no coverage at all with the HS accucheck.

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made my first mistake last night.

started infusing some packed rbcs through a 22. about 30mins later realized i had done it, stopped the infusion, and started a new 20... I hate when people start anything smaller thana 20 for this very reason

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

How do they run blood on infants? Through a 24...

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Specializes in Telemetry.

You know what, I've had a wonderful orientation and a decent hospital on a decent floor. The mistakes I've made thus far are: I gave someone a whole metoperolol when I was suppose to give hime 1/2, I went and did morning rounds when I came on shift and did not notice that someone's chest tube was not hooked up to suction correctly, given countless antibiotics late, and I once covered someone for a fingerstick because I hadn't been able to check orders in a hour or so and didn't know the doctor had taken them off sliding scale insulin. I have TONS of online classes that I need to finish that are now past due and I've failed my EKG test twice now. I cry every night when I get home, I cry at work, I'm crying right now as I wright this. I can't sleep the night before I go to work. I'm nervous and nauseated and I think I made a HUGE mistake entering the nursing field.

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Specializes in Med Surg, ER, OR.

Kalipso...don't give up quite yet. People go into careers for many reasons and the main one for nursing is that we care about those we take care of. We are all human and make mistakes, but we all understand what you are going through. We are behind you!

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The mistakes I've made thus far are: I gave someone a whole metoperolol when I was suppose to give hime 1/2,

This is an easy mistake to make, but you'll probably never do it again. I prevent this mistake by writing "1/2" on the med label when I do my first check in the med room. When I scan the med, it will warn me to only give 1/2 (another check), but I'll get another visual reminder right when I go to pop it out of the package (b/c of the handwritten 1/2 on it). Don't rush while giving meds. It's better to give some meds late, than to make a mistake.

I went and did morning rounds when I came on shift and did not notice that someone's chest tube was not hooked up to suction correctly,

Another mistake you probably won't make again. The nurse before you apparently made the same mistake (as well as how many before?).

given countless antibiotics late,

I've done the same. The ones that get me are IVPB antibiotics that are scheduled for the same time. I really have to think to give one at 0800 and one at 0900 to be on time. This gets better the longer we are on the job because we become more organized and more efficient.

and I once covered someone for a fingerstick because I hadn't been able to check orders in a hour or so and didn't know the doctor had taken them off sliding scale insulin.

I don't see this as a huge mistake. The pt's blood glucose was obviously elevated, so the insulin was needed, and you had an original order for it. You aren't superhuman, so you aren't going to know that the order changed until you check the chart -- and nobody has time to check the charts every minute of the day. I gave someone his morning PO antibiotics, then found out that the dr. was switching to different PO antibiotics. It wasn't the end of the world -- just a new order that was a little late. I just called the pharmacy to make sure the additional meds wouldn't cause a problem for the pt.

I have TONS of online classes that I need to finish that are now past due and I've failed my EKG test twice now.

Talk to your nurse educator to find out if you can have some more time to devote to these classes. They need to support you in this area. EKG's are difficult to interpret. I tried to find an online tutorial that I used while in school, but couldn't remember the site. This one looks really good (think I'll use it myself!):

http://www.rnceus.com/course_frame.asp?exam_id=16&directory=ekg

I cry every night when I get home, I cry at work, I'm crying right now as I wright this. I can't sleep the night before I go to work. I'm nervous and nauseated and I think I made a HUGE mistake entering the nursing field.

It sounds like you are being too hard on yourself. Recognize that no one is perfect -- we are all learning on the job, so mistakes will happen. If you get yourself too worked up, your mind will freeze, and it will be harder to learn. Anxiety & worry take up valuable brain resources. Take some deep breaths, realize that you aren't alone, and go with the flow. Good luck!

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Specializes in Med Surg, ER, OR.

I forgot to add, when I pass my meds, if I have to give 1/2 tab I'll bend the packet to clue me off. I also keep a sharpie marker attached to my badge in case I have to write something quickly. I do label my IV bags with the sharpie and with med passes I put my meds in a clear baggie and write on the outside of the baggie the room number and any notes (pull med from fridge, cabinet; ask about home med, etc)

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OMG!!!!! First thing I am going to tell you (because it is what everyone tells me:) Relax you are doing fine. We would not be human if we didn't make mistakes. The main thing is to catch it, own up to it, learn from it and try not to repeat it again.

I have been in nursing one year and I still make mistakes, I ask God to help me to be a safe nurse each day. I make every effort to check and re-check meds, orders etc. but stuff is going to happen.

After I made a mistake that left me so upset, the nurse taking over my patients for the night said, don't worry about it, this is 24hr care I'll take it from here.

You are doing fine!!!! :p

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Let's see. I gave a spiriva capsule PO, I am often late on my q2 turning schedule, I rarely have time to suction my intuabated pts, i forgot to sign my blood sheet so it looked like I gave blood without verifying it at the bs with another RN (my preceptor who forgot to tell me about the form I needed to sign), I don't take lunch breaks because my time management sux, my nursing "notes" suck I don't feel like I am saying the right things to cover my booty, I spiked a bag of IV fluid and I got a shower in front of a pt's family, I get tongue tied and have panic attacks around an infamous cardiologist known for his maltreatment of nurses, I've forgot to give meds (both po and IV) because they were scheduled at really weird times, I suck at documentation there's the ICU flowsheet, the IPOC, the critical pathways, etc. etc., I sound like an idiot when a doctor calls to check on a pt, I let a pt go all day without seeing a doctor - was too busy running around to notice he needed to be seen by the PCP, I called a Dr. by the wrong name, I faxed down orders to the pharmacy incorrectly, I didn't double bag my c-diff culture and made a mess, I had a peg tube that sprayed all over me, I was sucking up some crushed meds and ended up spilling all my meds, the list goes on. I think I did better in clinicals. I am overwhelmed. ICU is not a good fit for me.

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