A MISTAKE
1
In the first
few days of my Oncology
placement I watched nurses doing
drug calculations and
administering chemotherapy . They were
helpful to me an talked me through what they were doing . I found out that
though drugs are checked by the pharmacy, the ward nurses always check them
again. If a patient is on a combination of drugs , then the calculations nurses do can be quite complicated
,especially if the drugs are administered via pump .Later in my placement I started
to do drug calculations myself and
my confidence grew.
2
Then came the time when I was on night shift. The ward
was extremely busy and I assisted the charge nurse as he gave out medication .
I asked If I could give out some
medication myself and, when he agreed ,I picked up the medicine pot for my
first patient , and gave him the tablets
. Almost immediately, I realized that I
had given him the wrong ones. Because chemo medication is cytotoxic.
And potentially fatal .I knew that the consequences of my mistake could be
disastrous.
3
I went into a panic and started to sweat
and shake .I rushed to the charge
nurse and told him what I had done . He called the doctor who
came within minutes. That gave me a
chance to compose myself –after all
.panic ,would not help the situation at
all. In the end it was OK . The doctor said
that the patient would not suffer
any ill effects from this
particular medication .
4
What did I learn from this? I learned how important
it is to be alert and
careful and about the
kind of stress .I will have to deal
with when I am fully qualified
.Perhaps my mistake would never have
been noticed ,but I know that I did the
right thing by telling the
charge nurse what I
had done . If I had said nothing. I would
never have learned how important it is to follow the correct procedure and check
and check again
I.-Reflective writing:
Read the student’s nurse reflections
on an experience and say which title a-d is the best one for each paragraph 1 -4
a.- The lesson________
b.- The observation_______
c.- The error __________
d.-Reassurance ________(reaffirmation )
II.- Decide
which of the following is the
most accurate summary of the student nurse’s experience :
a. When I was on placement, I observed a mistake being made
. A patient was given the wrong medicine and nearly died. But it was OK in the
end .The Doctor saved his life and I
learned how important it is to be
careful when administering drugs and how easy it is to make a mistake .
b. One Oncology placement did taught me a very important
lesson. I made the wrong calculation and gave the wrong quantity of medicine to
a patient .I stayed calm and kept quiet and because of this everything
turned out all right in the end .I
learned never to panic in a crisis and always to double –check drug
calculations.
c. Honesty is the best policy when you make a mistake. I
learned that from the time on the Oncology ward
when I gave the wrong medicine to
a patient . My mistake taught me about the importance of accuracy in
administering drugs and how to keep calm in difficult situations.
III.-Respond the following questions
1. The drugs are checked by the pharmacy and the ward nurses always check and check again?( )
2. The calculations nurses do can be
quite complicated ,especially if the
drugs are administered via pump ( )
3. The consequences of my mistake could not
be disastrous.( )
4. The nurse called the doctor who came within minutes.( )
6. If I had said nothing. I would never have learned how important it is to
follow the correct procedure and
check and check again ( )
