Update on First Med Pass

Published

Specializes in Medical Telemetry, LTC,AlF, Skilled care.

Well, I had clinicals today and it went worse than I could ever imagine. We took 6 patients to do meds on in PCU (the floor nurses there only take 4) and we were late with almost all of our meds. At this hospital you only have a 30 minute window frame instead of an hour and since we had 6 pts on a ton of drugs, it just didn't happen. We didn't even finish 0900 meds until 1100! Well, at first things were going well, I was having fun doing meds etc, but as the day went on my nerves became shot. Our E-MAR for instance, kept crashing every few minutes causing me to have to boot it back up and rescan all my meds, quite a few of the drugs had either not been filled, or had not been acknowledged, it seemed like the interruptions were endless. My instructor whom I've always respected and adored very much became very rushed and at times down right hateful to me over it seemed everything I did. At one point my hands were shaking so bad I didn't think I would ever get some of the pills out of the individual wrappers, I had to give several injections and the first couple of injections I did fine with but the last few of them I did were terrible. My technique was down right awful, I wasn't darting the syringe correctly and I felt so sorry for my pts because I KNOW it hurt. I wanted to take my time to make sure I didn't make any errors well, my instructor kept on and on about how we were running late, we needed to put a move on it, etc. I became so nervous, so frustrated, so anxious it wasn't even funny. At one point we thought that I had made a med error because of things the computer was saying, at this point it was all I could do to keep from crying, thank god it turned out that I did NOT give the drug and everything was fine. Towards the end of the day, I was a breath away from telling her I wouldn't be back, my self esteem has been completely depleted and I honestly don't know if I'll make it through this program. How can I ever be a good nurse if I can't even give meds properly? She apologized for being so hateful and mean towards be and that she always gets that way during med passes, but who knows if she meant it. I feel so stupid and I feel like a complete failure as if I've let everyone I know, including myself, down. She did say that tomorrow we would only take 4 pts instead of 6 but what if I keep screwing up, if I stay so nervous I know I won't be able to do it. I always thought nursing was my calling but if tomorrow goes as terrible as today went, I may have to rethink my plans. :banghead:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in cardiac med-surg.

how ridiculous to expect you to do 6 pt when the floor rns only do 4

hard to believe

good luck next time

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Take this experience in stride. Really.....

You'll seriously look back at this experience and laugh about how you would never be able to accomplish a medication pass in a timely, efficient manner. It takes time to be efficient, swift, and safe. This important clinical experience is simply another part of the ever-growing learning curve.

I work at a nursing home and pass medications to 18 patients. Many of these patients receive 8 or more different medications, yet I'm able to get it all done in less than 90 minutes if I manage my time well and work efficiently. Once you receive your license and work on your own, you will find techniques that will cause your medication passes to be faster and safe. Good luck and keep up the excellent work!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical Telemetry, LTC,AlF, Skilled care.
Take this experience in stride. Really.....

You'll seriously look back at this experience and laugh about how you would never be able to accomplish a medication pass in a timely, efficient manner. It takes time to be efficient, swift, and safe. This important clinical experience is simply another part of the ever-growing learning curve.

I work at a nursing home and pass medications to 18 patients. Many of these patients receive 8 or more different medications, yet I'm able to get it all done in less than 90 minutes if I manage my time well and work efficiently. Once you receive your license and work on your own, you will find techniques that will cause your medication passes to be faster and safe. Good luck and keep up the excellent work!

Thank you so much for your encouragement, I greatly appreciate it! I still feel like total crap though, I've been upset all evening... I dread tomorrow morning I pray it won't be as hellish as what today was... :trout:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I dread tomorrow morning I pray it won't be as hellish as what today was... :trout:
I will keep you in my prayers, too, with the hopes that all your future medication passes will flow smoothly and without any errors. Again, keep up the good work. You will persevere. ;)
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-surg > LTC > HH >.
Well, I had clinicals today and it went worse than I could ever imagine. We took 6 patients to do meds on in PCU (the floor nurses there only take 4) and we were late with almost all of our meds. At this hospital you only have a 30 minute window frame instead of an hour and since we had 6 pts on a ton of drugs, it just didn't happen. We didn't even finish 0900 meds until 1100! Well, at first things were going well, I was having fun doing meds etc, but as the day went on my nerves became shot. Our E-MAR for instance, kept crashing every few minutes causing me to have to boot it back up and rescan all my meds, quite a few of the drugs had either not been filled, or had not been acknowledged, it seemed like the interruptions were endless. My instructor whom I've always respected and adored very much became very rushed and at times down right hateful to me over it seemed everything I did. At one point my hands were shaking so bad I didn't think I would ever get some of the pills out of the individual wrappers, I had to give several injections and the first couple of injections I did fine with but the last few of them I did were terrible. My technique was down right awful, I wasn't darting the syringe correctly and I felt so sorry for my pts because I KNOW it hurt. I wanted to take my time to make sure I didn't make any errors well, my instructor kept on and on about how we were running late, we needed to put a move on it, etc. I became so nervous, so frustrated, so anxious it wasn't even funny. At one point we thought that I had made a med error because of things the computer was saying, at this point it was all I could do to keep from crying, thank god it turned out that I did NOT give the drug and everything was fine. Towards the end of the day, I was a breath away from telling her I wouldn't be back, my self esteem has been completely depleted and I honestly don't know if I'll make it through this program. How can I ever be a good nurse if I can't even give meds properly? She apologized for being so hateful and mean towards be and that she always gets that way during med passes, but who knows if she meant it. I feel so stupid and I feel like a complete failure as if I've let everyone I know, including myself, down. She did say that tomorrow we would only take 4 pts instead of 6 but what if I keep screwing up, if I stay so nervous I know I won't be able to do it. I always thought nursing was my calling but if tomorrow goes as terrible as today went, I may have to rethink my plans. :banghead:
Hi, just wanted to see if today was any better for you. Please let us know how it was with 4 pts. It will get better, hang in there.:penguin: ;)
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical Telemetry, LTC,AlF, Skilled care.

Sorry I didn't post how yesturday went! Well, it was absolutely wonderful and was the exact opposite of tuesday! Right off the bat my nursing instructor pulled me aside and we talked about the day before and she said, "I'm sorry I was an asshole towards you, I took my stress out on you and that wasn't the type of enviroment you need to learn in." She then told me that we wouldn't even be taking 4 pts but we would be taking 3 so we could focus on learning the drugs, etc. It was really wonderful, I gave a few insulin injections and a lovenox injection and she said my technique was much better. I several heparin and saline flushes, tube feedings, and administered meds through a PEG tube and she said I did just fine on all of it. It really helped to build my convidence back up and it was nice being able to be relaxed with my instructor and my respect for her has increased even more simply because she apologized. All in all it's been an interesting, stressful, but positive learning experience. Thank you Commuter for your support and your prayers and thank you Hairstylingnurse for reminding me to post LOL your support has helped immensly! :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Sorry I didn't post how yesturday went! Well, it was absolutely wonderful and was the exact opposite of tuesday!
This is fantastic! :yeah:
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion