What if?

caliotter3 · Jan 5, 2009

There could be disciplinary action up to and including termination. You could be reported to the Board with subsequent action taken against your license. You and your employer could be the defendants in a lawsuit. You could be criminally charged. At any degree of consequences, you could lose your professional good name. Try getting a job elsewhere when your name is being associated with adverse events. People are blacklisted all the time for so much less.

Vtachy1 · Jan 5, 2009

Back in 1990, when I was a new nurse working on a med surg floor, we used to have vials of potassium sitting around for when we had to mix in IV drip with K+.

I remember a nurse drawing up K+ instead of saline for an IV flush, and another nurse was orientating her and caught her mistake as she was inserting the syringe into the IV line! Yikes, it was a close call and the nurse was sobbing crying, just thinking about what she had almost done.

Its so EASY to do. BUt nowdays, they don't keep k+ on the floor anymore, and pharmacy has to mix up our IV drips with K+, there are a few IV drips with K+ that are already mixed in our Pyxis cabinets.

So scarey!!

Flare, ASN, BSN · Jan 5, 2009

Hospitals are never happy to hear that an error on an employee's part caused a patient death. But it does happen - we are only human. For the most part, unless what you did was due to gross negligence or sheer incompetence, the hospitals usually have legal departments to cover you. I wouldn't let the fear of possibly making such an error keep you from getting into nursing. If anything, take that fear and make yourself a diligent nurse careful and competent. Don't be lazy or sloppy and always, always carry your own malpractice insurance policy.