Newer nurse

Altra, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2012

Yep, it's normal. As a brand new nurse, my prioritization skills were fair, at best. My preceptor told me that if I ever failed to do A before B again ... she would cut my fingers off. We still laugh about it.

You will come a loonng way in your first year as a nurse. Trust me. And trust yourself. :)

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Mar 3, 2012

The first year is the hardest. You'll probably make 80% of the mistakes you'll ever make in your career in that first year after graduation; it gets better pretty quickly thereafter, so hang in there!

:hug:

Truth be told, it takes 2-3 years of nursing before most of us feel really comfortable in the position; changing jobs often tends to delay that process, so if you can stick with your current position, you'll reach that level of competence sooner. And, whatever else you do, please accept the fact that you are HUMAN, not to mention brand-new to the nurse role, and will mess up from time to time.......anyone who claims they've never committed an error of some type is either still so new the ink on their license is still wet, or they're lying.

Take care. :)

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2012

It's ok to look up meds when they're new or you're giving them in a new situation. I've had instances where a dose seemed off and upon looking it up in the hospital drug guide it turned out to be a-ok, and situations where if I'd administered the medication as ordered I'd have killed my patient. Doctors are human too, so just because they order something doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be error free.

As far as mistakes go, I've made way more than two. You learn from it and learn to ask questions when something seems off or is unfamiliar to you.

NO50FRANNY · Mar 10, 2012

I just wanted to let you know a couple of tricks that I use for medication safety- I tell the new grads when they start also. Firstly, never ever give a medication to a patient if you don't know what it is for. I know it's time consuming to look them up but eventually you will know just about all of them by heart. Secondly, I always run through each tablet with the pt., like "so here I have your lipitor for your cholesterol" etc. etc, you would be surprised the amount of times this practise has saved an error. Thirdly, doctors are human too and I have been asked to administer lethal or toxic doses on more than one occasion- If in doubt, check with a more senior doctor if necessary. Your colleagues will be more than happy to double check things with you too. I usually advise the new grads to learn by heart some of the more commonly prescribed drugs, like anti-hypertensives that way you can save yourself some time. You're only human so don't worry, we all make mistakes- you will get the hang of it.

Merlyn · Mar 10, 2012

I've been working in my ER for close to 2 years but as a nurse for a few months. I've made some mistakes since working there. None of them adversely affected the patient. One was stupid, but I made the mistake because it was my first time doing something and forgot a step. One was a med error, but I followed the doctor's orders and should have questioned it. Did anybody else every make mistakes when they first started? I worry it'll turn into something that harms a patient, but I'm a brand new nurse so I don't even know to double check certain things with the doctors yet. For example, I just learned the other day not to give Toradol to pregnant women. If a doctor had ordered that without thinking, I wouldn't have known not to push it. My critical thinking skills aren't really developed yet. Just wanted to see if this is normal, since I feel like I'm doing the best of my ability with what I KNOW, it's the fact that I'm stil lacking certain knowledge that is causing me to make mistakes.

Sweet Soul, We have all made mistakes, some of them big ones. Unless you become a robot you will continue to make them. The point being as you get more experience you will make less and less. Any nurse that says that she never made a mistake is either in denial or has been to the Narc cabinet too often. Relax, think before you act. you are during find.

fiveofpeep · Mar 10, 2012

I just wanted to let you know a couple of tricks that I use for medication safety- I tell the new grads when they start also. Firstly, never ever give a medication to a patient if you don't know what it is for. I know it's time consuming to look them up but eventually you will know just about all of them by heart. Secondly, I always run through each tablet with the pt., like "so here I have your lipitor for your cholesterol" etc. etc, you would be surprised the amount of times this practise has saved an error. Thirdly, doctors are human too and I have been asked to administer lethal or toxic doses on more than one occasion- If in doubt, check with a more senior doctor if necessary. Your colleagues will be more than happy to double check things with you too. I usually advise the new grads to learn by heart some of the more commonly prescribed drugs, like anti-hypertensives that way you can save yourself some time. You're only human so don't worry, we all make mistakes- you will get the hang of it.

Good advice :)

ALPV · Mar 13, 2012

I am a new grad working in the ER. I had no prior experience working in a hospital or as a tech. I jumped right into the ER. I had 8 weeks of orientation and have been practicing on my own (along with the help of my co-workers) for 5 weeks now...the ER is definately challenging. I want to be challenged though, but with challenges there are mistakes to be made and lessons to be learned from those mistakes. I have made 2 mistakes since starting on my own over the past 5 weeks...it is scary to know that I have this knowledge and I know what to do, but in the ER everything is so fast paced that sometimes I don't stop to think so one minute "ok, is this the right thing to do?" "Is this the right med for this patient" "Did I check vitals, am I following protocol, is there a protocol for this situation?". I learn something new every single day I am at work and I hope that my mistakes become fewer and fewer over time...or at least continue to stay non-life threatening. I look at it this way: I care so much for my patients, for the medical care they need, and to make sure I am able to take the time and understand what my patients need. As long as my mistakes are small and I am able to learn a lesson and move forward and NOT make that mistake again, I think I will be a good ER nurse. It all takes time to adjust and move forward in the nursing world.

brainkandy87 · Mar 15, 2012

Oh man, we all feel like that. We all pick up different things at different times. I learn something new every day from veteran ER nurses. At the same time, I've mentioned things that those same veteran nurses didn't know. We are all in this together. Just remember to never be afraid to ask questions and you'll be ok. Not knowing something is fine, we can't know everything. It's doing something without knowing what you're doing that gets you in trouble.