New here, need some advice

HealthyRN · Mar 7, 2008

I'm sure that most of us had many mistakes when we were new nurses. I know that I did anyway! I didn't have any mistakes that resulted in patient harm, but there were some that could have. You could talk about a minor medication error or a close call. What everyone should learn from such incidences is that you must always be vigilant and never become too comfortable. Also, most "mistakes" like these are the result of a systems error and not necessarily the fault of an individual.

I've been on a lot of interviews, but I've never had to answer that particular question. A much more common question would be to name a challenge that you faced at work and how you overcame it.

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 7, 2008

Broaden your definition of "mistakes." Don't just think of technical errors or errors in giving care, etc. Think of mistakes in how you handled a political situation ... a mistake in making a quick judgment about a person and later regretting it ... a mistake not taking advantage of a good opportunity ... etc.

Some of life's most important lessons are learned through reflection upon experience. What experiences have you had that have taught you something valuable? Surely some of those experiences involve some actions or judgments that you made that could be considered mistakes.

If you are not finding ways to improve yourself and/or your performance then something is wrong. If you have been improving yourself and/or your performance, then you must have had some weaknesses that could be improved -- and probably some mistakes.