yesterday something bad happened to me at work, i gave a wrong injection.
just today i was ordered to the hospital nursing managers office because i mixed up 2 patients who r in the same room. one was charted for PRN oxycontin i.m. and i accidently gave this injection to the other patient in the room(the one who complained of pain and needed PRN medication) because i looked up the wrong chart. They called me at 2am to find out what happened because the patient said she got an injection and it wasnt charted in her cardex. this morning i had to meet the hospital nursing manager and the family is very very upset (fortunately nothing happened to the patient). she wasnt allergic, she was even on oxinorm p.o., given in the morning and at 22:00, so after my injection at 20:00 she didnt get her p.o. medication. i am working as an agency nurse and for the time of the investigations my shifs in that hospital were cancelled. i feel like a looser, ashamed, feel like ppl talk about me as my story spreads around like a fire in the hospital. they said it wont endanger my registration but they might still get it reported to the nursing board so ill be on their file.
i spent the whole day crying... i always thought of me as a good nurse and everybody was usually happy with my work...
my agency has to meet the head manager of the hospital on monday and investigations r going on... im so scared, dont have peace of mind
I am sorry that you are having a rough time right now. I don't understand why sometimes nurses get hung out to dry. This scares other nurses who might then attempt to hide their errors which is the opposite of what we need to do. We will make mistakes...everyone does in every profession. But nurses seem to have bigger stakes than others.
Yes, you made a mistake, but you owned up to it and that speaks volumes on your character. I just wish that the powers at be would give nurses a break when they do make a mistake. It is not like you tried to hide something.
There are med errors that can seriously injure a patient and maybe that might warrant a hand slap and a harsh talking to based on the circumstances, but yours did not cause any injury.
I am sorry that your world has been turned upside down. Hang in there!!
Specializes in Geriatrics, Hospice, Palliative Care.
Hi Nursey, I can't say much more that is useful, but am sending you good vibes. I hope that the patient's husband gets over his anger and comes around to a more reasonable point of view - that his wife wasn't harmed and that railroading you for one error means that there will be one less good nurse around to take care of people.
I jusrt wanted to let you know that you are in my prayers. Try to focus on positives like the patient was not harmed. I don't really know know what else to say other than hang in there. Take care of yourself.
I'm sending some hugs to you right now as I read this. I made a med error similar to this years ago - I was devastated, I spent days crying, thinking about what COULD have happened, I too questioned my future in nursing. But, do you know what? I learnt from the experience and developed my own double checking system so that it would never happen again, and it hasn't. The devastation you are feeling WILL pass. You WILL get through this. You worry about it because you care. The nurses to be afraid of are the ones who just brush it off. Don't give up!!
What country is it tha tyou wanted to go to? I know here in the US, if they see a med error and see the story that you've told us, they will probably not make it a big deal and consider your application anyway. Most hospitals here do NOT even write you a disciplinary action if you make a med error. They have policies that make it safe for you to report it so that they can find out what happen and help it to not happen again. It encourages people to report the med errors, knowing that they will not get into trouble for it.
I know it's been a few days since your last response, how are you doing?
thanks so much for all your support. it really helped me to feel better at least regarding the error itself. The first days I beat myself up over it all the time and thought I wasn't even worthy of calling myself a nurse anymore.
The country I want to go to is Australia.
THe situation is not any better... I am not getting shifts by my agency and I feel like someone is holding me under water and not letting me to breath. THe consequences are horrendous. I contacted the nurses union and they said this incident is not a reason for my agency not to give me shifts in other hospitals. In this case I believe it's all about keeping reputation (of agency and hospital). Reputation of the hospital: The patient and her husband are both working for the healthservive executive and appear to be quite high ranked there. The husband keeps on inquiring what happened to "the nurse who gave the injection" and it seems that he wishes me to be struck off the register. The hospital though didn't report the incident to the nursing board as the outcome of my error wasn't severe in any way. So now when the husband asks, the hospital says that I'm suspended and he will be happy to hear that. NOw regarding my agency. They are a rather small agency who works only with 4 hospitals. ANd if the hospital where the error happened hears that I'm still working for them it will throw a bad light on them.
The punishment is so much more severe than I ever believed it could be... And my livelihood is about to be destroyed.
I contacted the nurses union over this and they will handle the matter. I hope the storm will be over fast, otherwise I'll be on the street without any income.
Maybe I am not understanding you correctly, but you just wrote that they did NOT report you to the nursing board, but your punishment is worse? You don't have any marks on your license,,, you might have a med error if a facility calls your agency to check your references. BUT, go out and apply for a new job, go to lots of places!! You will get a job. Don't sit on your hiney anymore. This is not the end of the world! NOt at all.
SO, they tell about your med error,,,, everyone makes a med errors sometime, and if they say that that haven't, they're lying.
well i was warned to apply anywhere else because they said they will have to tell the next workplace that investigations are still going on in my case... Here in ireland nobody would accept anybody who has investigations going on so if they arent being closed today I am in big trouble financially. They said once the investigations are over things will be easier... but nobody knows how long this will take as the husband of the patient is very very angry. So now the situation is: Public hospitals dont recruit, private hospitals ask for at least 2 years acute hospital experience (i have 8 months exp, of which 5 months are nursing home which doesnt count for them as experience, and 3 months agency nursing experience) So the best thing to do is to join another agency but they will inquire with my current agency and will find out about the fact that investigations are ongoing on my name. They wont bother accepting my applications so i better wait another few days before i loose my chances with those agencies. I am now waiting for a call of the union regarding what to do.
Specializes in Radiologic Technologist, now in Nursing.
I am so sorry to hear about your son. I have heard that is the worst loss a human being can experience. Don't worry, you'll see him again on the other side. I wish you well and I applaud your courage.
Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.
Try to calm down, the patient is fine. One error does not make you a bad nurse, no one is perfect. As other posters have said just learn from this experience. Don't be too hard on yourself.
The "investigations" are still going on, i am still without income and i am not doing well.
i started to have panic of the day when im supposed to return to work. I frequently wake up in the middle of the night, my heart is racing and am fearful, thinking of work and the possibility that i could do a mistake again if i get back to work. Over day i am anxious and depressed, i cry many times a day. Its eating my bones. MOre the fact of that im still without income, the fact that i fell from the upper floor (everything went soo great) into the muddy basement within a blink of an eye. I feel so ashamed also towards my colleagues. People will say that i might overreact.. but the past 11 days turned me into an emotional wreck with panic attacks and i feel treated as if i killed someone
PsychNurseWannaBe, BSN, RN
747 Posts
Hey,
I am sorry that you are having a rough time right now. I don't understand why sometimes nurses get hung out to dry. This scares other nurses who might then attempt to hide their errors which is the opposite of what we need to do. We will make mistakes...everyone does in every profession. But nurses seem to have bigger stakes than others.
Yes, you made a mistake, but you owned up to it and that speaks volumes on your character. I just wish that the powers at be would give nurses a break when they do make a mistake. It is not like you tried to hide something.
There are med errors that can seriously injure a patient and maybe that might warrant a hand slap and a harsh talking to based on the circumstances, but yours did not cause any injury.
I am sorry that your world has been turned upside down. Hang in there!!
I hope you are able to find some peace of mind.
:icon_hug:
~Psych