Second Victims in Healthcare

[k-flo]

Hello everybody,

My classmates and I are doing a project on the impact on healthcare workers, more specifically nurses, who have made a mistake and have suffered the consequences from that mistake. For example, nurse Kimberly Hiatt accidentally overdosed an 8-month-old with calcium chloride and eventually committed suicide as a result. The nurse in this case was the second victim of the med error.

Have you made a mistake in your practice that compromised patient safety and affected you emotionally? How did you feel? Did you receive any emotional support from your institution? It will help shed some light on this issue.

Thanks in advance :)

[eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN]

Any nurse who says they've never made a mistake is probably being untruthful. Although I've never made a mistake that brought harm, I've made mistakes. I've forgotten to unclamp tubing. I've hung NS instead of half NS.

There are several stories of mistakes on this site. I think it's sad when a mistake causes such tragedy. In my mind poor staffing contributes to increased mistakes. When a nurse is forced to care for more than he or she should, mistakes are more likely, even with safety measures in place.

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~