Should I report Myself

[Mattsgrl83]

I work in LTC. Last night I noticed that on Friday night I gave a PRN narc that was Q12H only 9 hours after it was given last. At first I thought I charted under the wrong date and then realized that it was the correct date. The only reason I can think of why I gave it was because the person who gave it before me wrote 115 as the time and no am or pm was specified I must have looked fast and thought it was 115 am, but it was 115pm and I gave the med at 10:30pm. Today is my day off and I wonder if I should call my nurse manager and inform her of my mistake, wait until someone else notices, or hope no one sees? I have only been working here for 2 months and I am so scared of loosing my job as my husband is laid off.

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

I wouldn't call in....I would write an incident report and talk it over with your NM.

It sounds like it was a systems error driven by a documentation error. I think an incident report should be written and submitted. They are supposed to be non-punitive. You are more likely to have trouble for failing to disclose a potential systems error that could put a patient at risk.

A simple change on a systems level of how times are recorded could prevent future errors. IOW administration times should be documented using 24 hour time. Would you have passed the med at 2230 if the previous nurse had documented 1315? No because you would have known that it was less than 12 hours.

[Sunflowerinsc, ADN, RN]

I would let my supervisor know but except for the system, I don't think it such a big deal. A 12 hr time for a prn pain medication seems like a long time between but that is something for the Doc to address. But our medication delivery system would put up a warning when taking out a med so early.

I can't remember when I worked without using the 24 hr clock (or military time as many people call it) Its hard to make a error then and I did think it was one of the safety rules. I wouldn't know if 115 was 1315 or 0115.

Was the pt alright?

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

No. But learn from it.

[caliotter3]

I always chart using the 24 hour clock. The big reason for using this system is to prevent errors.

[RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN]

I say no, but learn from your mistake. Or perhaps if you feel that it will be seen my someone else you may want to report it. I wouldn't.

[NC Girl BSN]

I would not report it. The end........

[SweetLemon]

I agree with the above posters, mention it to your supervisor just so you don't have it looming over you. If it is documented correctly it could be traced back in an audit and by letting your supervisor know you don't have to worry about it anymore. I suppose it depends on the drug, but it sounds like a very-very minor mistake. Don't be too hard on yourself, you don't get to be a real nurse until you have made a few mistakes along the way. :heartbeat:heartbeat:heartbeat