Opinion: When Nurses Make Mistakes

We've all made mistakes, most of them small and inconsequential to the patient's health, but sometimes the mistakes are serious. Most of the time, our errors don't amount to much because the hospitals where we work have put in place systems of checks and balances to be sure serious mistakes don't slip through. But even when your mistake is caught and a potential crisis averted, you are left with the knowledge that you almost harmed a patient you were trying to protect. My worst mistake ended up not mattering at all, but it still pains me to think about what could have happened as the result of my error.