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Discussion

Past worries

Am I the only older, seasoned nurse that thinks back to my early nursing days and wonder if I caused any serious issues for patients by med errors or practice errors..and what if I caused them further harm that led to serious medical issues or death and I wasn't aware of it....does this sound crazy? Am I overthinking...example: an elderly lady with lesions on her legs that I expressed drainage from a few times (better out than in right?,).. but later thinking expressing the drainage manually  can cause deeper infection. I don't know that I caused any issues but I keep thinking about it intermittently be cause I'm kind of a perfectionist and hate having things on my conscience.....anyone that can help ease an old lady's mind

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    Yes I think you're overthinking things.

    I kind of think if you'd done serious harm to a patient you'd know about it. Surely it would have caught up with you; and nearer the time, not years later.

    Is there something else going on which is making you live in the past like this?  If it's just something you think from time to time then try to chill a little - chances are you did good for all your patients. If it becomes an obsession then think about discussing it with a therapist.

    One of the worst things in our profession is the blame/guilt trip culture. Most of us do OK by our patients. Whilst we should always be on guard to maintain good standards and never get complacent, there's really no point in beating yourself up.

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    Thank you for your kind words and support

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    Yeah I do. I went into nursing 

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    I get how you feel. I've felt that same sting of doubt looking back on moments I wish I could redo—especially when that perfectionist part of me starts whispering, "What if I caused harm and didn't know it?”

    What I've found is that reflection is healthy, but living in regret isn't. We all grow, learn, and sometimes look back wishing we'd known more—but that's wisdom, not wrongdoing. Be gentle with yourself, take the lessons, and forgive yourself, knowing you were doing the best you could with the tools you had at the time. Hope this is helpful!

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    Thank you so much for your kind words ...it helps a lot and I'm so glad someone understands 

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    You are welcome! I am so happy to hear it helps a lot!

    -Heather

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