Starting 1st RN position soon.... med error haunting me :(

[CANewRN]

I begin my new career in the ICU in a few weeks. My last semester of nursing school I made my first (and hopefully only) med error in the ED:crying2::bluecry1:. No harm was done to the patient, after some monitoring, they were released. As incredibly awful this experience was, I feel that it will only make me a more careful RN. However, I start in a few weeks and as the day approaches, the more I think about the error. It really shook my confidence and Im afraid of taking care of patients alone when I am done with my orientation phase. I replay that situation over and over in my head and I see now just how easy it was for things to get slipped up... and conditions that the error were made in WILL occur again (busy patients, busy time of day, lots of procedures, etc) Im scared. I know I am a good nurse, but am I careful enough? Any advice welcome. Thanks :nuke:

[Nurseismade RN]

I begin my new career in the ICU in a few weeks. My last semester of nursing school I made my first (and hopefully only) med error in the ED:crying2::bluecry1:. No harm was done to the patient, after some monitoring, they were released. ............. I know I am a good nurse, but am I careful enough? Any advice welcome. Thanks :nuke:

You are and will be a good nurse.... med errors are a wake up call....I had one recently too, did not give med right time...and thankfully like your patient no harm was done. we must always do the five rights....I know with me we use meditech and scan the patients, I sometimes find myself depending on this....sometimes too much. So now I do the five rights all the time.

All the best to you in your new career as ICU Nurse.

[Hands and Heart]

Just continue to be vigilant and adhere to the five rights. I made a med error in my first quarter of nursing school. I have been extremely careful ever since. My instructor at the time was able to see the immediate impact that error had on me. She said she would always want me to be her nurse because that one experience was enough to make me extremely vigilant. I have taken that comment with me for each and every medication administration. The fact that you think about your error shows that you too were impacted by your error. These things change us for the good. I wish you the best of luck.

[missninaRN]

I think that med error will make you even more careful so that it doesn't ever happen again. I know that every mistake I have made-from forgetting to enter a closing note to failing to read back a telephone order-stays etched in my memory and makes my extra cautious. I have never repeated the same mistake twice!

You will be fine. Once you start working and get past that first med pass, you will see that you can do this just as well as anyone!

[PICURN74, ASN, RN]

You were a student which most likely means someone (instructor or RN you were working with) had the ultimate responsibilty for the med being given according to the 5 rights. While I am glad you learned from it, don't keep beating yourself up about it. Learn from it and use it as a reminder in your career to always be mindful when giving meds. Welcome to nursing!

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

Yeah, I agree...you are vigilant about meds because of the error, right? It translates into real world nursing....for example, I've done 2 days on the floor...and I'm already giving meds....so it's like...WHOA, what's going on here? I pulled the wrong med from the pyxis today, and had to return it...no biggie, cause I realized right after I shut the drawer....wrong med.....

So I returned it using the procedure we do....such is life. Mistakes happen, the thing is that you HAVE to be vigilant to realize the meds that you give HAVE to be the right ones....you can fix the mistakes before they take that pill...after, that's a whole other story.

It's different being the REAL nurse....I can't say let me find your nurse for you....