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Discussion

Multiple med errors

I'm a new LPN. I did not have an externship after school, and due to testing and delays in employment I did not have my first nursing job until 3 months after graduation. I received 8 days of orientation instead of the time I was promised at my interview. I was on my own for 3 weeks and then I made 3 medication errors in one week due to rushing around and not making sure I’m doing all 5 rights of administration. No one was harmed, but I quit my job after having a mental breakdown. I feel so inept and I don’t know what to do now. I’m thankful that my pt’s were okay. I’m so scared of the board because I have a feeling they’re going to take my license before I even got the chance to really be a nurse. I don’t know how I could have made such huge mistakes in such a short time. I don’t want to look for another nursing position because I’m terrified of making a similar mistake even though I know I would rather take 4 hours to pass medication than make another administration error. I was told I could not go past a certain time because that would also be a medication error. I’m so lost and defeated. I’ve never heard of someone making so many mistakes as a new nurse. Any advice would help, I am unbelievably lost at the moment. Nursing is all I’ve ever wanted to do and I feel like such a failure.

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    • Featured Replies

    Hello,

    I am so sorry to hear this. While I don't know what errors you made, but be assured that not all errors are person related. Your inexperience could be a reason for the error, but there should have been policies in place to prevent the errors. You said that the patients were OK. I would advise you to look into what exactly happened and take actions not to repeat them again. Hope this helps.

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    • Author
    1 hour ago, ljo28 said:

    Hello,

    I am so sorry to hear this. While I don't know what errors you made, but be assured that not all errors are person related. Your inexperience could be a reason for the error, but there should have been policies in place to prevent the errors. You said that the patients were OK. I would advise you to look into what exactly happened and take actions not to repeat them again. Hope this helps.

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    8 days of orientation for a new grad????? Something is very wrong here.

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    • Experts
    1 hour ago, subee said:

    8 days of orientation for a new grad????? Something is very wrong here.

    Yes, but it's very common in LTC and SNF

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    Hi - I can relate to you and wanted to tell you my experience in hopes of supporting you.  My first job as a nurse was at an assisted living facility.  I was the only nurse (the rest of the staff were CNA's) there at night, responsible for giving meds to 54 people.  If I had questions or problems, I had to call my supervisor at home.  It was very stressful, as most clients had more than one med, different types of meds, and at different times.   I made 4 errors in the space of a couple of months.   No patients were injured, Thank God.  The other nurse was downright mean and totally unsupportive.  She never tried to help me since I was a new nurse.  They gave me warnings and then they let me go.  The facility made me feel like a criminal.  It was awful and humiliating.  I thought I should quit nursing.  But after that I worked in home health and did very well, even earning Nurse of the Month!!  My point is that it could be the job is not right for you or something going on in your life.  Also the vicious cycle of errors creating anxiety, creating more errors.  In trying to see why I made mistakes, I realized I was terrified of not having a job (I was a single mom at the time), the workplace was hostile and not supportive of new nurses, and it was just too much for me to be giving meds to 54 people.  Right now, I am in an RN program and seeing how the hospitals are set up is amazing.  It is almost impossible to make errors because of the way its set up.  Scanning meds on the computer, fewer meds to give and better systems set up to double check meds with other nurses.  Please don't give up!!   Maybe do a different type of nursing for a while and realize that there could be stresses that you don't realize.  Wishing you all the Best!

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