Stressed out in my last clinical rotation before graduating

[abcde.cruz808]

Hi,

So I am pretty freaked out on something I shouldn't have done during an assessment with a patient at my clinical site. I took her bp on the arm that has a fistula for dialysis!!!! This is my practicum and this incident is freaking me out. I don't even know what to do right now as this happened yesterday. I have been tired, stressed, & depressed. I've been kicking myself over this all of last night. I'm really considering to call the unit about this, my instructor - to be accountable, for knowing my mistake.... To be honest I've also considered of quitting this close to graduation because I'm finding it to be that scary!! I keep thinking of the what ifs and I'm getting really burned out. I've already taken a year off school before and I can't take another year off this close.

side note: I've been so tired lately that I feel sometimes I'm not even there, like I'm just in auto-pilot throughout my day. Plus, I'm also stressed about other things. Any advice would be helpful...

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Don't quit over one mistake. You made a mistake and you have learned from it.

Mistakes happen. You will make more as you go through life. Learn from them, then put them behind you and move on.

[abcde.cruz808]

Thanks Pepper, I try to, but at this moment I don't whether to call the unit to tell them the mistake I did or call my clinical instructor first. I just wanna make sure the patient is ok and I'm pretty sure someone is gonna ****** somewhere.....I keep thinking I might even fail this.

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Talk to the instructor. Tell her about your concerns. I don't know much about dialysis fistulas, but while you may have damaged it, you may not have. I think if damage had been done, the instructor would have contacted you by now for your version.

i seriously doubt they will fail you for this.

[missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN]

If you want some answers, you may want to go to the dialysis nursing forum and ask what happens if you take a BP on the same arm as a fistula. They will be better equipped to give you sound advice, which may ease your mind. Send an email to your instructor, but one mistake isn't going to make or break you. We're all going to make mistakes.

Best of luck!

[amberella123]

I'm sorry your so stressed out! Maybe you should privately talk to your instructor about it if you are that worried. Also it really sounds like you need some sleep! Just take a day, and get a little extra sleep. I'm sure that would help a lot.

[Sparrow91]

I am so sorry to hear about the stress you are going through right now. I would really encourage you to speak with both your instructor and the unit about your mistake. Mistakes happen all the time to everyone and it is important to learn from them. One of the most important things that every nurse has to learn is honesty and accountability for one's actions. Nursing is one of the most trusted professions, we all have to do our part in upholding that reputation! Good luck to you.