Oh crap...I can't believe I forgot...

[EJBNeuroRN]

to turn on the Heparin drip after I did a blood draw on a jugular access site!! Doh!!

I did the lab draw at 0600 and when I was sitting in my car on the way home at 0730, I suddenly remembered...and it hit like a brick...s#*! I forgot to turn the IV pump back on.

I know, I know heparin is a big deal, I should have remembered to turn it back on. I'm sure someone will reprimand me... I deserve it...and yes, I'm the worst nurse on the planet, please gather your stones and commence the throwing...

The patient was DCing home later in the AM and going to switch to oral Coumadin. I thought about calling the AM nurse and letting her know, but I didn't want to interrupt her day for her to say "Um, yeah, I saw you forgot to restart.. (thanks for making me walk all the way to the phone to hear something I already know)"

I am wondering what you guys have forgotten to do on your shift and then WHAM! it hits you...what did you forget and what did you do about it..

Please send all negative and berating personal comments to my inbox, just looking for commiseration here.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

:hug:....We have ALL done stupid things and it hits us when we are driving home or in a nightmare that wakes us in a cold sweat! The best thing invented was the cell phone for that "Holy Feces!" moment when it hits you in the car. At the end of a long night I was anal about checking my pumps or almost dry bags and that they were all running.

The best, and I mean best, practice is to place the pumps on hold......it makes it harder to forget them. Your remorse is clear and we all learn from our mistakes. I'll bet it will a long time (if ever) before you forget this moment! But always call the unit, it makes the next nurse feel better that you cared enough to let her know you had a brain flatus moment!

[SRDAVIS]

I would have called, but don't be so hard on yourself I've forgotten things it's a part of being human, working understaffed and just moving too fast. Just try to learn from it and move on.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

Usually I'll forget to sign off that I gave a med, or I won't hand off a detail about labs that need to be drawn for the next morning. But I always call and check in with the nurse. If it were me, I'd want to know. I understand how busy the beginning of the shift can be, and if the nurse doesn't get to see that patient right away, she might not catch that the drip wasn't back on. Just like a nurse on my unit might wonder if the patient got the medication or not. So don't be afraid of "interrupting the morning." Just call and let her know. I'm sure she will appreciate it.

The only time I've been annoyed by a phone call is when I transferred a patient from ICU to the general floor around 7:30 pm. I sent the MARS, chart, all the necessary transfer sheets.

Sometime around 11pm I got a TEXT MESSAGE from the nurse taking care of the patient on the floor. She said she had an important question about the patient and please call the unit.

When I saw the message and called (luckily I was still awake) the nurse asked me if the patient had gotten her 8pm medications. I responded, "were they signed off in the MAR?" "No." "Then no, she didn't get them."

I really wanted to give her a larger piece of my mind about how unacceptable it was to be asking me this question almost 4 hours after the medications were due, but I let it go. (But did later report it to my NM.)

First of all- if it's an important question, why are you TEXTING me instead of calling me directly?

Second- why have you waited four hours to realize that the kid needs medicine and see if she got them? The nurse was very lucky I wasn't asleep because I would not have seen the text message until the next morning.

So, OP, here's some advice: If you forgot to do something important, call the nurse as soon as you remember. Don't wait, don't worry about interruptions, don't assume she already knew about it. Don't text her and ask her to call you.

[bsyrn, ASN, RN]

no advice just :hug:

[jeanyis]

I called for admit orders and forgot to enter them into the computer :thankya:

I remembered on day 2 of a 3 day weekend.

[threebrats46]

We never transfer patients without giving them their meds..the other nurses would raise hell. We have a 3 hr window..if meds are due at 10pm we have between 9pm and 11pm to give them. If they were due at 8pm,Id have given them before transferring.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

It happens. You recognized your mistake, I'm sure someone noticed and hopefully got clarification to start it. Aw, the joys of nursing!

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

Lol, I can tell I am going to love this thread, It alway's hits me in the shower that I forgot something. It always hits you like a ton of bricks, but the nurses on the opposite shift always appreciate that call, and it shows that you really are thoughful and concientious about your shift.

I have learned a bad habit, but it works. I write on my hands. Still doesn't stop everything, but it helps.

I once had "BCBA" written on my hand, that reminded me not to start their Antibiotics before Blood Cultures were drawn. I always want to get orders rolling at 100mph, and it takes some thought, not easy for an unDx ADD nurse.

huge handwriter here too!

[newrnltc]

First month I was an RN my resident pulled out his PICC line an hour before shift change in the middle of 2pm med pass! I was in such shock.. putting pressure, rushing to call MD who was not available, looking for NP, monitoring/making sure he was okay, trying to find out what happened.. documenting....

4 hrs later... I'm at home eating dinner, still thinking about that resident when the realization dawned on me that I had not measured and documented the length of the catheter! I almost choked on my food! Such an important detail should anything happen!!It was still sitting at the bedside wrapped in an empty guaze packet after I showed the NP tip was intact.

Luckily the nurses I worked with at the time were very supportive. I texted one of the evening nurses and told him my mistake. He was very nice about it after laughing and calling me a newbie he found it, put it in specimen bag and left it in one to of the resident's unused drawers so I could to a late entry in the AM.

Oh god I willl never make that mistake again!

[PediLove2147, BSN, RN]

I ALWAYS forget to document my I&Os. I have a spot on my "brain" especially for it since it happens so often.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

We never transfer patients without giving them their meds..the other nurses would raise hell. We have a 3 hr window..if meds are due at 10pm we have between 9pm and 11pm to give them. If they were due at 8pm,Id have given them before transferring.

I work in the PICU and we have a half an hour window. So since it was 7:15 when the patient left my unit (the delay on the floor was because they did not have a crib in the room and the NA had to find one) I couldn't have given the meds before the patient left the unit or it would have been considered a med error.

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

Forgot to check an 0530 blood sugar on (of alllll the patients with glucose checks that I could have forgotten) a DKA patient who was supposed to go home that day. When day shift nurse checked it it was over 500. The day shift nurse told everyone she could think of, including the doctors, other nurses, and the patient himself, that I bought him another day in the hospital.