Learning from Mistakes

When I was a young nurse, in my first job, we had nursing students on our floor frequently.  There were still pediatric units in community hospitals, and we had a very good one for learning the basics of pediatric nursing.

One day, one of these young students made a (minor - no patient harm occurred) medication error.  This is the worst nightmare of a student, to make a mistake while not even a "real" nurse yet.

The instructor was apoplectic.  She dressed the student down loudly and publicly.  The student sobbed.

I couldn't stand it.  When the instructor had gone on her way, I pulled the student into an empty room.  She cried, and I let her.  But I told her, every human on the planet makes mistakes.  We strive hard for perfection, especially in healthcare, but mistakes continue to happen despite our very best efforts.  Hopefully, I said, we learn from our mistakes and go on to be better clinicians.

I never saw this girl again.  I hope she went on to become a great nurse.  And I hope she helped others when they made mistakes.

I went on to becme a nursing instructor myself later in my career.  Whenever a student erred, or came close to error as I hovered nearby to prevent them, I remembered that other student.

I still believe mistakes can make us better at what we do.  I still believe in handling them with dignity.  I still believe in giving support when it is needed.  I hope you do, too.