Mistakes

Today is the worst day I have had so far as a RN so I'm going to write my day so I can look back on it in a year and go oh I learned a lot that day! At least that is what I hope I think. So for starters I am a nights person I don't really like days. Being up at 4am is just not for me and all the people that are on the floor....UGH they get on my nerves! It's funny how I loved the ED in the evenings when it was the busiest but I really don't like days on the floor when it is the busiest. Not sure why but it's just very over stimulating for me.

Anyway, I've been on nights for the last month and just started on days on Monday and worked 3 12hour shifts in a row. On night shift I was taking 4 patients by myself with little help from my preceptor but on days we decided the first week I will start with 3 patients and work my way up.

So my 3rd day I get to work and they tell me I have 4 patients. Which frazzles me a little but I'm like it's my last day I can totally do this. Plus, 2 of my patients didn't have any scheduled meds so I thought that's a plus.

The day got started I felt busy but I was doing assessments and getting things done. Then I went to give a patient a med (not a real important one, Enzymes to be specific) and the pharmacy had put the wrong label on the wrong bottle and there were 2 different kind of pills in one bottle. It really wasn't that big of a deal b/c I knew what the patient was supposed to have but dad was standing right there and I was at a total loss for words. Even though it wasn't my fault at all b/c someone else had put them in the room it still had me kind of on edge. But pharmacy was called and it was all good.

Then the big thing that totally threw me through a loop happened. An order was written by a doctor with questionable handwriting and pharmacy misread it and long story short they sent me a liquid sedative instead of a diuretic. Well I looked at it and thought it was different the name the liquid part (yesterday was a pill) but I didn't stop to look at the order or look it up on Lexi comp. Went to give it to the patient and it asked me for co-signer. I then really started to question the med and asked another nurse why I needed a co-signer and he informed me of what I was giving. Well I DID NOT give the med and found my preceptor and just cried. I felt like I was totally incompetent. I just wanted to go home. She was very reassuring that it was all OK and that I didn't give the med and mistakes happen. Yada yada yada. It still just put me in a funk for the rest of the day. Which both of these incidences happened before LUNCH!

Plus, there were just little things that happened through out the day that should have been easy and simple and were anything but easy and simple.

I know mistakes happen and I knew they would happen to me. I just felt so bad that I was that close to a med error. By the way the sedative wouldn't have hurt the patient it would have just made the patient sleepy but it definitely would not have made her pee! Anyway, I just thought I would share. I learned A LOT today! There is always time to slow down and go with you gut.

OK well I hope this post does not make you think A) hospitals are horrible or B) I should not be working with other peoples kids. Because all my patients were fine at the end of the day and none of them got the wrong meds or even knew anything was wrong with me. I love my patients and I completely understand I am taking care of someone else's child like they are my own (except I don't get to spake them when they are ugly to me).

Anyway, that was my day. I made it through my first week on days and am ready to relax over the weekend. Hope you all have a good rest of the week and enjoy your weekend.