nursing heartbreak :/

Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN · Jul 9, 2009

So you were charting in the wrong place, right? Can you strike it with a single line through it, initial it, chart in the correct place, and have it all covered?

I made a med error in nursing school. The patient I had two days in a row was receiving Lasix 20 mg, the first day orally, and the second day it was switched to IV. In my haste, I recognized that she was still on Lasix and gave her an oral Lasix. When I recognized my error, I just had to do an incident report. The staff nurse was notified, to which she said she probably needed the extra Lasix, anyway. That was way worse that what you are describing, IMO.

Calm down...you will not be arrested or expelled for this.

BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Jul 9, 2009

Really? Are you talking about an actual piece of paper, and it was the wrong one? If it had no other orders on it I would have thrown it away, grabbed the right one and re write everything! I must be missing something here,...this is like no big deal at all!

Mike A. Fungin RN · Jul 9, 2009

Yeah, um... I sincerely don't understand why this is a big deal (at least not the way you're describing it). Take a couple deep breaths, it probably isn't as bad as you think. Don't go into panic mode before you have all of the information.

onetiredmomma · Jul 9, 2009

As the previous posters said, take a couple of deep breaths and try to relax. I am not sure why your instructor made such a big deal about writing an incident report over this ( not sure why it even merits one for that matter). I am sure you won't make this mistake again, nor will any of your fellow students! Be calm, remember your deep breathing exercises and put this in the learning experience file in your brain and move on. Best of luck to you!

allnurses Guide · Jul 9, 2009

I totally agree with the previous posters said! You wrote on the wrong piece of paper? Seems like their reaction is a bit of overkill.

The nurse who blabbed her mouth to everybody else is, to be charitable, unprofessional, but I can think of lots of other colorful words to describe her:D

No, you will not be arrested for that. Ree-lax!

swirlygirl · Jul 9, 2009

Wow! An incident report for writing on the wrong sheet of paper?? I've seen a doctor write orders on the wrong patient's chart and all he had to do was draw a line through it, initial it, and write "error." Are you not allowed to do that? Sorry, but this sounds like a typical nursing instructor making a mountain out of a molehill and trying to make you feel inferior in the process. You obviously feel bad enough about this and I'm sure you won't make this mistake again. Hang in there!!

chicookie, BSN, RN · Jul 9, 2009

I think your nursing instructor was trying to scare you so that you don't assume when you write in the chart. Not an effective tactic. You won't get into major trouble with it. You wrote on a wrong sheet of paper, big deal. Now you know to double, triple check what you write and where.

I used to do it all the time and not once did I get in trouble. One line through everything, error, initials and move on!

noni06 · Jul 9, 2009

I'm a registered nurse with a BSN and when I first started working I made so many mistakes with paperwork that my preceptor hinted that I was probably the dumbest nurse she ever worked with. I was a very good student ( mostly A's and B+'s), but I was horrible at documentation in school and as a new nurse. ( I actually documented in the wrong patient's chart a couple of times.)

Most of my co-workers used to gossip about me. I actually heard my manager talking about a mistake that I had made behind my back, she didn't know I was still on the floor. I almost got fired many times because of my documentation. I felt stupid and wanted to quit but I held my head high and worked harder at improving my clinical and documentation skills.

A few months after I started working everything came together and I haven't made a mistake on documentation ever since. English is my second language so I think that probably had something to do with all my paperwork mistake.

My point is like everything else in nursing you get better with practice. PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP, most nurses forget that we all made stupid mistakes as students and new nurses, so don't let their gossiping bother you too much. I promise you it will get better and eventually you will laugh about all your silly mistakes.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Jul 9, 2009

It sounds to me, also, that you are more worried than you need to be. You will definitely not be arrested. You probably will get reamed a little by your instructor or dean. Look them in the eye and own your mistake. Before you meet, try to have some ideas about how you can avoid making the same mistake again. As you may have already noticed from other replies, every working nurse is wondering what the big deal is. Don't take that attitude--they'll want to see you taking this seriously--but it wouldn't hurt to keep it in the back of your mind.

Taking ownership of your mistakes makes it a lot harder for the powers that be to get mad at you. More important, it shows them you aren't careless, and having some ideas how to avoid the same mistake reinforces that you aren't likely to make the same mistake twice. Nursing school is a learning process, and unfortunately, some of that learning is by trial-and-error.

Do not let them see you cry.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Jul 9, 2009

The mistake you made is one that probably everyone will make sooner or later. You draw a line through it, write "error", initial it, and then chart correctly. You're making way too much of a big deal of this. Move on!

And....this is your first post here, on your very first day being signed up with Allnurses.com...what's up with that? :)

HvnSntRN · Jul 9, 2009

Incident reports are brandished by some instructors and some more "seasoned" nurses as a way to intimidate the n00bs novice practitioners, and sometimes shake the confidence of over confident novice practitioners. Do you know why they do it?? Because it works - case in point, your own experience - you have been demoralized, reduced to tears and have feelings of incompetence over an honest mistake that any new orientee might make - including the med students and new residents. It's part of the phenomenon in the nursing profession called Eating Your Young. Is it the right way to teach? Personally, I think not.

Don't get me wrong; incident reports have their place. Teaching hospitals are usually massive organizations, and they are a fairly effective way of identifying system flaws and tracking commonly occurring errors, and then using that information to try to improve the way things are done in the organization. Incident reports should ideally be viewed as a learning opportunity by both the person filing the report as well as the person(s) involved in the incident being reported. Try not to take it personally, as difficult as it is.

Don't beat yourself up over this. Nobody has died. You learned something about the documentation system in this particular organization, and you learned something about your clinical instructor (and the nurses working on that unit) and the tactics they utilize in "discipline".

Rise above, my dear, rise above. Make mental notes - is that the kind of atmosphere where you would feel welcome to work as a new grad? Would you want to work there to "show them" what you are capable of doing? This is a great opportunity to do some reflection and make some decisions about the morale of a unit that you come into as a new hire, and how you would handle a situation like this in the future.