Parent not satisfied with my nursing care

novicenurse11 · Apr 15, 2012

This bothers me to no end. I have no one to blame but myself. Today was my first time using an insulin pen and a very long time. First, I forgot to prime needle by wasting 2 units in trash ( parent noticed and I was able to do so before giving the injection). Then, instead of leaving needle in site for 10 seconds I pulled out after 5. I felt so stupid and embarrassed. I notified the lead nurse and she said it should be fine. I just feel horrible because parents put their trust and faith in us school nurses, but today I failed
I learned a big lesson and will strive to do better.

It sounds like you're being WAY too hard on yourself. 5 seconds... 10 seconds... it's fine. Take a breath.

ClearBlueOctoberSky · Apr 15, 2012

My mom uses insulin pens for both her Novolog and Lantus. When she was educated, she was educated to only leave the needle in for five seconds.

caliotter3 · Apr 15, 2012

I've never used one of these pens at all, so how do you imagine I would feel if faced with the necessity? Don't be so hard on yourself. You are bound to encounter situations where you need some coaching or need to brush up on a skill, or learn something new. I have found that most parents realize that not every nurse will be familiar with everything needed, all of the time, to care for their child.

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Apr 16, 2012

This is one of the hardest things about school nursing. We might have a student enroll at any time with any myriad of medical conditions, and we have to be prepared to deal with it. Sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes it takes a while to get up to speed on a new, rare, or not recently done procedure. In the school setting, there is generally not another nurse to show us the ropes or to be able to observe doing a procedure. We do the best we can, and I think the issues you described are very minor and would not result in any harm to the student. So I agree, try not to be so hard on yourself.

I had a student who suddenly needed twice daily straight caths in the middle of my second year of school nursing. I had not done a cath in years, and had never done one with the patient sitting on the toilet, as is common in the school setting. Let me tell you, there were some misses! It took a few days before my accuracy was good, and by the time I got really comfortable with it, the student started doing her own caths! But the next year when another student started needing them, and could not do her own, I was ready.

Right now I have a student who has a one-on-one private duty nurse. If she is ever absent I am expected to start his tube feeds and do his meds. I guarantee when that day comes, there will be a little fumbling with the tube feed just because it is not something I do every single day. We are expected to be able to do any and everything that comes our way without pause or need to refresher, but this is not realistic. We just do the best we can and if we need to refer to the parent (who is the expert on their child), then that is ok!

Flare, ASN, BSN · Apr 17, 2012

welcome to the first in a large series of mama bear attacks. You will never deliver the care the way a mama bear wants. The best you can do is brush up on your skills and hope that you learn a little something each day.

And don't beat yourself up over 5 seconds vs 10 seconds. I've given a boat load of insulin injections to wary elementary school aged chidren - it's rare that they can ever tolerate 10 seconds of having a needle under their skin.... if they get to the point that they do, it's time for them to do their own injections!! lol

SchoolNurseTXstyle · Apr 17, 2012

You can please some of the people some of the time BUT not all of the people all of the time. Not even physicians know how to do every single procedure or know every single thing there is about all things medical. As professional nurses, we know what we don't know and when to ask for help. try not to be so hard on yourself. But just the fact that you are beating yourself up shows me that you are a good nurse and a great person, which is just what the school nurse profession needs!

OnlybyHisgraceRN, ASN, RN · Apr 17, 2012

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. You all are the best !