F'ing up in clinicals
I had the worst week in clinicals ever this week. The patient was nice and fairly easy to take care of, but I got written up for forgetting to ask a patients name when passing meds and have to do a whole day more of med pass to make up for it. Then, starting an IV, I didn't get the tubing in quickly enough and the poor guy was bleeding all over the place. What a mess! The instructor told me to stop beating myself up. The patient was old, had really fragile skin, was dehydrated, and said he was a hard stick with rolling veins. I got him on the first try, so she said it was a great job and stop stressing. I know I touched the edge of the port with my glove and now I'm obsessing that the guy is going to get some massive infection even though again, the instructor told me to lay off myself, and that I did a good job. She also told me to stop worrying about the med pass, and that it was just going to go away as soon as I redid it, and that I was not the only one. Good luck with that. I think my care plan sucked, but I haven't gotten it back yet. This is the first time I've ever felt that it is possible I may not be able to hack it. Part of me knows I'm making this a bigger issue than it is, and I know I'm harder on myself than anyone else could ever be. How do I stop making myself nuts?

6 Comments:
Take a bubble bath with candles and a glass of wine. Does wonders. Or you could start a serious drug habit. The bath is probably a better idea. Cheaper in the long run.
Hang in there. It's easy to get frazzled. Just take a deep breath, calm yourself down, and start fresh the next day.
W. :)
There are good days in clinical, and there are days we wonder if we did ANYTHING right. Chalk it up to learning, and take it easy on yourself. Just bolster your confidence so you're ready for the next one. You can do it!
Sometimes I go to work and have nights that are great. Other nights, I wonder why they let me graduate. It is ok to make mistakes - just learn from them.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I think it's just kind of par for the course... I think we're alllllllllll going crazy. Partly from beating ourselves up. Maybe that will make us better nurses someday.
Post a Comment
<< Home