New Nurse Education Mistake

newbee58 · Jan 10, 2022

I am a new nurse working at a public health department. Given the current world we are living in my orientation was very short. I have been working in the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program for a little over six months now. Almost all of my work is done solo either over the phone or at my patient's home so there is very little feedback. I have often stated it is hard for me to tell if I am missing something or there is something I don't know because there has been no-one there to correct me or teach me to be totally honest.

Recently I learned I have been making a repetitive error. Many of my families ask me if they can pull up peeling paint chips (some ask if they can sand or paint over as well). My instructions has always been the same leave the paint alone. That messing with the paint can stir up more lead dust and expose more lead paint. They should instead use a wet paper towel and wipe down the area to decrease any lead paint dust and block off any areas of peeling or chipping paint with heavy furniture, duct tape, contact paper or cardboard until the area can be properly fixed by housing and a certified contractor.

Months into this program I was told I should be reminding families to remove loose paint chips and that sometimes the landlord denies a certified contractor or the project will take months to complete and maybe discussing other options then just blocking off the area is necessary or the hazard will just remain. I feel awful that this isn't the guidance I have been given but I genuinely thought I was giving the correct guidance. I love this job and I think it is very important work but everyday I wonder if I am missing crucial information or like the scenario above giving incorrect information. Part of me thinks this is information I should just move forward with and part of me wants to reach out to my previous now closed cases and explain this to them as well. I am having a hard time telling how bad of a mess up this is. Any thoughts or suggestions for moving forward and my anxiety/guilt over this? I just feel like a fool.