screwed up at work... feeling crappy...

ktwlpn, LPN · Jul 17, 2004

this is such a silly little thing to get upset about... and maybe it's because i'm feeling sick myself (just getting over a sinus infection)... but do you ever have days when you wish you just stayed in bed?
i'm a new RN who's been working on an Ortho floor for 2 months now... i hate it... i hate how heavy the workload is... i hate the getting people up and out of bed... i'm pretty much hating nursing right now...
i had my first big screw up today... i discharged a patient, my first discharge actually, and i overlooked a few things... i've never been shown how to do a discharge and it was so busy today that no one had time to help me... basically, a pt. was transferred to a nursing home without a follow-up instructions sheet and i did not notify his family that he was being transferred... the family showed up on the unit after my shift (i only found this out when i was calling in sick) and reemed out the charge nurse... there's definitely going to be a report to the unit manager about this... the charge nurse was actually really nice about it when she told me, but i just feel so stupid...
besides the fact that i was already hating going to work on this unit, i now feel like i should just quit... there HAS to be a better fit for me than this unit... i only took the job because i was moving and just needed any job i could get...
i just never thought that, after 2 months of nursing, i'd feel like nursing wasn't for me...
beth

We all make mistakes-learn from it ...No need to beat yourself..Your mistakes were easily remedied.I am sure it was no problem for the unit secretary to fax the d/c sheet or for the nurse in the nursing home to call the doc.Even if it was the first admission to the home for this patient I am sure the nursing home received info on him in advance...As for the family-I am sure they were inconvenienced but if they had been communicating with the doc or the hospital staff they should have had SOME idea that d/c was pending and maybe they could have called before they came in? I like how everything has to be OUR FAULT...No-one wants to take ANY responsibilty for themselves at all....Also I work in LTC and whenever I receive a resident from the hospital I always notify their family and give them a report on the resident's condition.. Ortho is very physically demanding-as are some other specialty areas.I think it takes a new nurse 8 to 10 months and sometimes an entire year to realy feel comfortable and confident....Give yourself some time-you have a vast amount of knowledge to learn to apply to real-life situations.You may love this job someday....Next time-insist on help or get out the procedure manual before you do something you have never done before.Don't let yourself get rushed and rattled....Many of us have sent patients home with hep locks in because the crap was hitting the fan at the nurse's station,the doc came in hours after he told the patient he would and the patient was chomping at the bit.... Good Luck-keep us posted...

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Jul 17, 2004

Yes, we all make mistakes. I know I do.

I had a crappy day myself last week.. bad day all around, physically demanding is hard enough, but when it gets chaotic it ups the chances of making mistakes. I wrote down the wrong pre tx. weight of one of my patients, and he ran 4 hours for practically nothing, because I had written down the wrong weight to begin with, and I ended up pulling next to no fluid off him. Makes you feel even worse at the end of an already rough day.

Hope you can find something which will ignite that spark and your love of nursing again ! (((HUGS)))

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Jul 17, 2004

Yes...we all make mistakes...at least yours didn't hurt anyone. What do y'all consider to be a heavy patient caseload on an ortho floor?

ham22 · Jul 18, 2004

as a ltc nurse i just have to say- don'y worry about it. we get new admits all the time that have no paper work and it has never been a big issue to me. all i have to do is call the hospital and ask them to fax me the orders. they are usually very apologetic about it and get the orders right to me. it's the ones that come from home that are the frustating ones. you know 20 bottles of unmarked pills and no dr.s orders for them -but that's a whole different topic! seems to me this was a minor mistake in your career. too bad the family had to make a stink instead of making sure everything was in place beforehand. after all they are just as much a part of this patients care team as the nurses are! good luck and keep your head up!!