My shift was great today, until I discovered a doctor's order wasn't followed through by me. It was written the shift prior, but was to be put in action on my shift. The ironic thing about it is that I was on the phone with the doctor looking at the bag of IV fluids ordered because he wanted to add something to it. Turns out I was looking at another pts bag.
I didn't realize this until the end of the shift, when i went to retrieve the bag from the med room and it was gone. Thats when it dawned on me that I was looking at the wrong bag for the wrong pt. Pharmacy has limited hours on the weekend, so I couldn't just call em up. I told the oncoming nurse about this situation and she said she'll bring it to the MDs attention when he shows up tonight. I fault the night nurse for not catching this (cause it was written on her shift, she had the pt on the prior ngt shift) and seeking clarification and I fault myself too. Perhaps thats why she was so willing to help. I had all day to clarify this, but didn't realize the problem until someone pointed it out to me. I was so busy all day. 6 pts swamps me. I'm 2 months new into nursing.
Before I left, night nurse and I found out the order was written incorrectly. This order also required an additional protocols sheet for the MD to fill out. The IV fluids wont be given until we receive clarification. Thank God the pt isnt a critical one.
I felt so defeated when I was leaving the floor. I told myself, "Why didn't I realize that?", "Why didnt I look at that order a little bit closer", "If I had my nursing cap on (lol) and thought a little bit more critically, I would've caught that."
I also thought to myself, either way, everything will be taken care of, by the morning. I've been doing so well so far, that I cant believe I had this type of a brain fart. : X
Thank God I have the next few days off.
