RN mistakes

RN mistakes

Have you ever made a mistake? What happens when you make a mistake at work. Do you get chewed out by your boss? If that is all that happens to you, consider yourself lucky. Has your mistake ever hurt someone? What if your mistake you made occurred to someone whose life was entrusted in your hands. Their direct care was your responsibility. As a bedside nurse a mistake is a hefty word. During lunch breaks people will trade off mistakes or near misses as war stories. They always seem to happen to other people never to you.

The night was like any night in the NICU; ventilators hummed and alarms beeped, nurses stood next to there babies bed providing care. Working in the NICU I feel a that I have an extra responsibility, I know that the parents are incapable of caring for their children. In a way I become both a health care provider and a parent. I am very confident in my skills, my ability to heal-- and just when you think that you have your nursing practice down it happens....for a moment your heart stops as you realize you made a mistake.

I was caring for my babies the way I usually do -- NICU nursing care ranges from completing in depth physical assessments, monitoring vital signs, and obsessing over the quest for a neat bed. When I got to my second baby my assessment was anything but ordinary- the stomach was distended, visible bowel loops were present patches of discoloration covering the abdomen. Neonatologists were called and x rays were preformed. I put down two oral gastric tubes (one for feeds and one for ventilation) and prayed that I my patient only had gas, or an enlarged liver, yet I prepared for the worst -- Necrotizing Enterocolitis or NEC in laymen terms (I use the term NEC cuz iz cants pronounce the fancy medical slang).

Well I over reacted..... after I got over my Julia Margulis moment with out George Clooney I restarted the continuous feeds and gave my GI meds. Turns out that kid just had major GI reflux and an enlarged liver (yea for me and my assessment skills). Anywho the rest of the night was very unremarkable. When the AM shift came I told her my dramatic story of a NEC scare yet she casually asked "where is the TP tube?" I freaked I forgot that the patient had a TP tube. As it turns out the baby had pulled out the TP tube during shift change and in the excitement of the moment I forgot and placed an OG tube. In retrospect it really was not a big deal at all. But I still felt bad that I made an mistake. hmmmm even after writing that it is very anti climatic......big deal...BUT I STILL FELT BAD I NEVER MAKE MISTAKES they always happen to other people. When I got hoome I could not sleep very well and thought about resigning my nursing license. I hated the fact that I had to go back to work that night and hoped that I could get different patients...but I had to face that same baby again. Usually I am happy and up beat when I am at work. That night I felt that I did not deserve to be among my peers in fear that I would make another mistake but this time it would be harmful....... I wanted someone to stroke my ego and tell me how good of a nurse I was...to kiss my mistake and make it all better.

At 2 am the babies father called me -- (Not the one who I made the mistake on --- my other patient, the one who is really sick - she cant breath, there are holes in her heart, her stomach is unable to digest food.....I am proud to say i did NOT make any mistakes on that baby) -- He was crying and said he missed his little girl. I sat on the phone and talked to him for thirty minuets calming him down and soothing his fears. Told him how his baby girl will be home soon and how she is a fighter. When I was done with the phone call his voice sounded hopeful, and he was laughing at my jokes. He told me to kiss his little girl good night and told me he was going to bed -- he said he was able to sleep well because he knew that I was going to take good care of his daughter.

That's when it hit me. As nurses we make mistakes it's a given, but you have to learn from your errors and put them behind you -- have the courage to show up again with just a little bit more experience knowing that now you too have a battle scar. Yet in the end its not about how many stories you have to swap in the nurses lounge of "near misses" and and "almost" but its about how deeply you can show compassion to those who really need it.