Mistakes

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2006

Wouldn't it be great if we graduated from nursing school with some kind of guarantee that we would ALWAYS operate perfectly, without error? The public holds nurses in a high position of trust and we must endeavor to be worthy of that trust. This is true. However, mistakes can and do happen. It's only the degree of error, the damage factor, that is the obvious. Ask any nurse if they've been perfect in every aspect of patient care at all times. If they tell you "yes", they're not being completely honest.

The hard part is moving on without becoming paralyzed over the whole thing. We learn from our mistakes. That's the key. This first year has tested my confidence, shaken it and stirred it. I'm not as cocky as I was in my nursing school clinical. I'm not as self-reliant as I was. The team aspect of a nursing unit has been my saving grace. They're with me and behind me till I get it right. But the thing is, I have to get over myself and ask for the help before I get into trouble. This has been the most important lesson I've had to learn and it's been a double shot of deflation to my 3.5 GPA ego. Sure we may pass NCLEX and be given the title of RN, but becoming the RN takes time, patience, and a firm resolve to shake it off when we get traumatized by our own inexperience... at least in front of the patients and our co-workers. It's not an easy thing to do admittedly.

You will experience feelings in your first year that you're probably not accustomed to and you will reflect, learn and adapt when you run into situations such as your close call. Talk to other nurses outside of your workplace about your feelings like you did here.

I wish you well.

grinnurse, RN · Aug 4, 2006

The best thing that you can do in situations like this is to learn from them, try not to beat yourself up too bad (like we all have the tendency to do), and move on. Look at things like "what did I do wrong, did I have all the information that I needed, what other information could have been important, and how could I have done things differently? You can ask the more senior nurses how they would have handled things or what they would have wanted to know b/f hand etc. Your senior nursing staff is such a great resource utilize them when you need to!! I wouldn't have survived my first year with out using them as a resource.

That first mistake is tough b/c it does bring to light the fact that we have these pts lives in our hands and that's a huge responsibility. Nursing school doesn't teach you everything that you need to know unfortunately the biggest majority of that knowledge base comes from experience, mistakes and all. Don't get bogged down on yourself and the incident, learn from the experience and move on. Good luck and best wishes

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 6, 2006

SeriphumRN. . .please don't you or others misunderstand this, but it's really a good thing that this happened. You are going to have "close calls" like this all throughout your career where you are going to second guess your decisions. This is part of being in charge; of being the person who has to make decisions. All you can do is review in your mind the steps you took. Up to this point, nursing school has been preparing you by teaching you nursing concepts. You follow those concepts and make the best choice. At the end, nothing is always in black or white; there's no little black book to turn to for answers in all situations. Your judgment is what your nursing job is paying you for. Up to now, you've probably never had to really test your nursing judgment. You just got thrown into the water--and survived! We all have lived through a couple of these. This is what it means to have an RN after your name. You are not just a nurse. You are a decision maker. That's why we get the big bucks. So, you do like the army does and go over all your actions and your thinking. See where, or even if, you went wrong, make a mental note of what you should have done. Next time, hopefully, you'll remember this incident and do it the correct way when a similar situation comes along. This, SeriphumRN, is how you learn and improve your practice. You will be doing this all throughout your nursing career. And, if you think about it, you do this all throughout your lifetime with your personal life. So, chin up. Sounds like the patient wasn't hurt, you learned a lesson. Now, you move on and are a better practitioner for it. Good luck with whatever you first job ends up being!

jc0252 · Aug 16, 2006

i hear you guys. i had made a few mistakes also and am in my first few months of nursing, it makes me think it I am making little mistake on a daily basis and i work every day the odds are against me. I am sick of hearing my preceptor tell me you will be called to court and your license will be revoked and you will they only one defending yourself!! Is this so true, I mean does this happen on a daily basis?? She makes me feel horrioble scared and question why i even wanted to be a nurse.. I feel so stupid sometime!!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Aug 16, 2006

I am sick of hearing my preceptor tell me you will be called to court and your license will be revoked and you will they only one defending yourself!! Is this so true, I mean does this happen on a daily basis?? She makes me feel horrioble scared and question why i even wanted to be a nurse.. I feel so stupid sometime!!

You need to report your preceptor's behaviour to the head nurse. This is totally unacceptable. Yes, we do need to be aware that some things end up in court, but to repeatedly bash you over the head with threats is not helpful. This person should NOT be precepting new staff.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 16, 2006

I am sick of hearing my preceptor tell me you will be called to court and your license will be revoked and you will they only one defending yourself!! Is this so true, I mean does this happen on a daily basis?? She makes me feel horrible scared and question why i even wanted to be a nurse.. I feel so stupid sometime!!

No, it's not true. This preceptor seems like she's probably overly neurotic. If you are able to stand up to her, just face her and say, "I wish you would stop saying that to me. It upsets me." And, then just repeat that to her every time she continues to do it. If you can't do that, just try to ignore her. It sounds like she's unknowingly passing on her neurosis and fear of being sued onto you. When you have the opportunity to evaluate her as a preceptor (and you should be given that opportunity at the end of your orientation) make sure you mention that she has been doing this and how upsetting it has been for you.