Today I was "That" Aide

[VenaKavaRN]

Yes, today I was that aide that caused more work for the nurse instead of less. But that's not even the worst of it, because my mistake put a patient in danger.

My patient was in respiratory distress and on a bipap, being fed continuous tube feedings through an NG tube. This patient has two chest tubes, both with air leaks and the doctor wants to do a procedure this afternoon to try to seal them up. The nurse wants me to do the patient's bath before all this happens, so she offers to help (pt is total care and can't turn) later in the day after I get my other baths done.

So I go on with my day, get the other seven patients bathed and fluffed, thinking I'm doing such a good job etc etc. Well, it comes down to about an hour before the procedure and the nurse is running around like a chicken with her head cut off, plus the fact that it's shift change and she's trying to get things done before that happens. Doc decides to show up early (figures, right?) and suddenly I have several nurses (offgoing, oncoming, and charge) and the doc on my case about getting this person a bath. They're all genuinely busy, so I decide I'll just go and give him a partial spongebath right quick to the places I can reach by myself.

I'm a bit irritated at the situation and the several people telling me to do something I can't do alone but not offering to help. Focused all on me and not the patient.

I forgot to turn the NG tube feeding off when I laid the patient flat.

The NG tube had become dislodged earlier apparently and come out just enough that the feedings were going right into the lungs, made even more serious by being laid flat. Patient aspirates, O2 sats go in the tank, all kinds of nastiness.

Pt eventually got stabilized, but lots of animosity directed towards me from the nurses for the rest of the shift. Especially from that morning's nurse that had to stay four hours after her shift was done to try and fix the patient up. And I completely deserve it, I know. I feel horrible, especially since this whole thing could have been avoided had I been focused and paying attention. It was negligent on my part and I'm having a hard time dealing with that.

I know it's a mistake I won't make again, and the patient is fortunately fine, but I'm not sure how to mend things with my coworkers, or with myself. I've been an aide for three years, but this is by far the biggest mistake I've ever made, and it was so easy to make it that it scares me a little. My faith in my ability to be a safe caregiver is a little shaken. I know that it will take time for my confidence to build back up and that I will be more careful in the future.

I guess the advice I'm looking for in the midst of this "confession" is, as nurses, what would you want an aide to do the next time you worked with them after something like this? How could they show you they were really a good aide with their heart in the right place? Any advice/suggestions would help.

Thank you for reading,

Pepper

[Liddle Noodnik]

Thank you for reading,

Pepper

I would take the nurse aside as soon as you could and just let her know that you know you blew it and you feel bad. But things like that do happen unfortunately! Give yourself a break - sounds like you have been punished enough!

Nurses do dumb things too BTW.

[TazziRN, RN]

My feeling: if you usually do not make mistakes, and you showed me you learned from this (remorseful, careful, etc.), I would not have a problem with you. You were in a bad situation that you tried to make better.

I would suggest a meeting with your nurse manager. Tell her what you said here. Ask her how to mend things.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Nurses DO do dumb things too . . btw. (Docs too).

Just the fact that you acknowledge your mistake to your colleague and are humbled by that fact and are working to never make it again should be plenty . . at least for me.

Hugs to you . . :icon_hug:

steph

[nyapa, RN]

This procedure;

Was it to be done on the ward? Or in OT?

If it was on the ward, then I would have wondered why was the bath so important anyway in the scheme of things?

[ArwenEvenstar]

Pepper, I am so sorry for the bad day you had. Ya know, there is a huge difference between an honest mistake, and someone being incompetent or lazy. You sound like a great CNA that just made an honest mistake. An incompetent or lazy person would not even care that they made a mistake. Your concern speaks highly of you!

We all screw up sometimes whether we are CNA's, LPN's, or RN's. No one is exempt! One time I caught a significant error in how an IV drip had been programed into the IV pump. The patient was getting a wrong dose. Guess who started this IV drip and programmed the pump? The clinical nurse educator (a nurse with a master's degree) and the head nurse!!! At the time, I was brand new to cardiology! I was quite proud I found the error made by the head honchos!

I am a very conscientious and cautious nurse that makes far less mistakes than most, yet even I have made some royal mistakes in my time. Afterwards, I dwell on it for a long time wondering how I could have made such a mistake. I beat myself up over it. Yet, I must remind myself that I am only human!!! So, try to cheer up! You learned a valuable lesson. I always tried to learn from my mistakes. Thats what counts...

[VenaKavaRN]

Was to be done at the bedside.

I too, wondered why the bath was THAT important, but I'm the aide and my goal was to NOT cause waves or extra work, so I just went and did it /shrug

Thanks for the replies so far, guys :) Really helps me see things in perspective. It seemed like the end of the world when I left my shift today. Now I'm trying to see it as a learning experience.

[MedicalLPN, LPN]

Please realize that could have probably happened to anybody. We all make mistakes. Pull the nurse aside and just apologize, I doubt she'll remain angry or even is angry with you. You were just trying to help. As nyapa I don't see why the bath was made such a huge priority for the patient at that time. Quit beating yourself up though, you're a great caregiver you're just human like the rest of us :icon_hug:

[Liddle Noodnik]

...You learned a valuable lesson. I always tried to learn from my mistakes. Thats what counts...

YEP!

So hey, is this Arwen that I've already met, or another Arwen-type-person?

I too, wondered why the bath was THAT important...

Yeah, me too...

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

You feel so bad just because you care. I've seen RNs leave the TF on when they shouldn't have! Mistakes happen, I'm sure no one holds this against you.

I also know how it feels when you think you may have put a pt in danger; I certainly have been there. Again, you are very caring, and I would be glad to have you as my CNA.

Keep up the good work!

DeLana

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

You sound like a phenomenal aide. We all make mistakes. I would speak to the nurses privately and apologize. They probably moved on past this, but doing so shows your caring and integrity, which is most important. Many would not even blink an eye, but you acknowledged that you made an error. Hugs and kudos to you!

[Scrubby]

I have some idea what your going through because i've made some pretty stupid stuff-ups. Although these sort of errors are preventable, you really do learn from these mistakes. I haven't met one experienced nurse yet who hasn't made a mistake at some point in their career.

We should all stick together when these situations occur. It's an absolutely gut wrenching feeling knowing you've done something that could have compromised the patients safety. Once i lost a scalpel blade, could not find it and the other nurse in the OR made a comment that i deserved to be shot. I can't even describe how this made me feel. I hope that you receive some sort of support and encouragement from your coworkers and management. If you don't then i would strongly encourage you to seek employment elsewhere.