Tuesday, September 1, 2009

My Apologies

Hello my dear friends! First, let me say that I am sorry for the lack of posting on my part. I am alive, trust me. Last week was a mess. It was my last week full time, so I was working like crazy and trying to get stuff ready for school. I have no excuses for my laziness. By the time I got off work, I was tired and just wanted to rest. I have been riding an emotional roller coaster with school starting. I would go from being super excited to be starting, then be really nervous. (workouts will be started again on my off days from school)

It has been difficult to express in words my exact concerns, and during my first pharmacology lecture, the words came in the form of a nursing article.

Quick Summary:
This nurse developed a trusting relationship with her congestive heart failure patient. She has known him for years. One admission, she accidentally gave him a hypertensive medication when his normal blood pressure runs 70/50s (which is pretty low to be a normal, but that was his normal). She realized she made a mistake and had to tell this patient that she messed up and he needed to start vomiting to get the medication out. She offered to get him another nurse, and he declined and said he wanted her. There was a relationship already there. He trusted her, and she messed up. His blood pressure did end up dropping and they had to start him on an additional line of medication. He did become stable and was discharged 3 days later and he told the nurse to "Stop beating yourself up. It was an accident". (Yep...had tears in my eyes)

Medications errors happen every day. Sometimes it can have adverse effects, and sometimes it won't harm the patient. I will be a nurse in two short years. Odds are pretty good that I am going to mess up. In fact, I know I will mess up. Everyone messes up. Thing is, when you do mess up, be honest. Own up to your mistakes. I can only hope and pray that God will give me the strength and the courage to tell my patient (and admitting physician) that I messed up. Mistakes do make us better, but theses are people's LIVES. Nurses are the last line of defense that the patient has. No one double checks our work. We check the doctors and pharmacists, but who checks us? Me. I check me. I am responsible for me, and no one else is.

Knowing this, puts extreme pressure on me. The thought makes me freak out just a little. Granted, I have known that I am responsible for lives, but since school started today, the thought has now become a reality. People's lives are in my hands. I am confident that I will make a good nurse. I just have to hope that I am able to build a trusting relationship with my patients that they will be as understanding and forgiving as the patient in the above story.

New Motto:
"Good is not good enough, when excellence is required."

6 comments:

  1. I'm so happy you're alive!!!!! :D I am, too, somehow. xP I know you're going to do great in nursing school! Just keep us posted every now and then when you get a moment. <3

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  2. Thanks Carrie! I just need to get into a rhythm. First week of school is really overwhelming. There are 120 people in my class, and with everyone trying to get their schedules figured out, and when do I go to Assessment, and when do I go to Clinicals....gets stressful! But I survived first day, and now it's on to day two! Something good....I have to fix my lunch everyday, and it is looking pretty good (except for the goldfish crackers...but I like them for school snacks! :)

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  3. Nice to see you posting! I can tell you're going to be an excellent nurse. Good luck with school!

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  4. Yay! I'm glad to hear you are alive and well! Good luck with school! You'll do great!

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  5. Thanks Lindsey! Believe me, if I wasn't well...y'all would hear about it! Just remember guys...I may need to practice some of the skills I am learning! Will totally need volunteers! :)

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