Stupid Crap I’ve Done and Not Been Fired For

This is my 6th month of being a nurse so in lieu of my 6 month anniversary, I thought I would think back to all the dumb crap I’ve done and thank my lucky stars that I haven’t been fired and labeled a danger to the public. Here it goes in no particular order:

1. Hanging up a bag of D10W on a hyperglycemic patient (I let out a miniature scream of horror when I realized that was not NS and nearly ripped the lock out of the guy
2. Forgetting to inflate the balloon of a foley catheter on a patient who was VERY agitated
3. Confusing ceftriaxone for cefazolin (and being absolutely convinced that Ancef was ceftriaxone)
4. Not keeping IV diazepam on me when I was taking care of a post-ictal patient – who seized at the precise moment when I realized that I didn’t have diazepam with me
5. Arguing extensively with a drunk guy about the merits of IV fluids
6. Forgetting to give gravol with a massive dose of morphine – I console myself with the thought that puking probably hurt less than it would have without the morphine :S
7. Drawing blood cultures AFTER two rounds of antibiotics infused. Fuck.
8. Leaving the IV tubing clamped on a bag of stemetil
9. Being exceptionally pleased with myself when a bag of NS infused really well only to realize that the patient had ripped out the lock and the bag infused into his sheets.
10. Forgetting to leave the call bell near a patient who received a massive tap water enema – I literally walked into a room where shit hit the proverbial fan

For the sake of optimism, I tell myself that those mistakes were made when I was very newly unleashed into the world of nursing and I’ve learned a whole lot since then. Nonetheless I'm cringing at my list right now.