Hi, I'm an RN with 2 years' experience who kept making small mistakes (oversights, paperwork errors, omissions, things like that) at work. It was never anything so serious that my license came into question because I am obsessive compulsive about checking medications, etc but the small mistakes continued. Is it ADD or am I just not good at my job?
The reason I wonder this is because I got a lot better with my overall organization and efficiency, setting priorities, remembering things, and multitasking *correctly* once I started Concerta, but I still will often overlook a detail even on a "good" night when I am very organized and timely. I just got in trouble for something again this morning at the end of my shift; it was something I'd neglected all throughout the shift, and now a few patients and staff members might have been exposed to possible flu because of my oversight. Because they probably WEREN'T I said to my coworkers that it was no big deal and fixable. Partly I feel that they are making mountains out of molehills, and in a way I want to blame my recent return from Iraq for having a different set of priorities, but I'm well adjusted. I dont' feel guilty over this, because it was an honest mistake and nobody was hurt, but I am tired of always having to write incident reports for all my honest mistakes. In the military I have 2 years left of being a nurse, and I can't keep screwing up. I have tried everything. I've made a special flowsheet to track my patients and all their needs. My attention to detail still fails me often enough for me to be seen as a "problem employee" even though they tell me I'm smart and hardworking.
Do you have any suggestions that could help me to catch all the details at work? I know what I'm doing, I'ma good nurse, and I do care about my patients. People don't seem to believe that. I'm tired of feeling like I'm wearing a scarlett letter. Any advice would be appreciated.