By - Is It Something You Can Talk About?
After sharing the mistake with your coworkers, make sure you ask the leadership team whether it is something you can talk about or not. If it is, do not step away from sharing what you learned out of this mistake with those interested and maybe even with new nurses. We can all learn from each other.
- Have Some Error Disclosure
Sharing is for sure a great way to release some of the angst and to gain a better perspective on what to do next, but having a disclosure with your patient is crucial. Not only does it help reduce a significant amount of distress and clear away guilt, but it can have a significant role in improving the situation. According to how the patient is feeling and what the error context is, consider when and how would be best to have your patient disclosure.
- Analyze the Error Contributing Factors
You will never know why the error happened unless you look at it with from sharp, analytical perspective. It is important to identify these factors to have a clearer view on what to do next but also to help you better prevent such errors in the future. Were you tired and lacked focus at the moment the error produced? Did you accidentally confuse two similar named medications? Maybe you haven’t correctly heard the instructions of a doctor, or maybe you confused two patient cases. Whatever the reasons, you have to be able to look at them clearly and identify what happened.
- Come Up with an Action Plan
An action plan is essential since it allows you to handle the mistake and bring whatever improvement you can, to the situation. At the same time, it gives you a chance to use what you learned from your mistake and to create a plan around how similar situations can be prevented from now on. Your management team will be pleased to see you are proactive, and you will feel great knowing that what you learned can be of such great use.
To err is human. How you handle your mistakes is what is most important. So, don’t be too harsh on yourself and try to learn as much as possible from your errors.
