I made a small error at work.

23 Comments

1. AnonymousDecember 6,2023 at 10:44PM UTC

   No, her or anyone else's error have nothing to do with you or the quality of your work.

2. AnonymousDecember 6,2023 at 10:47PM UTC

   First, this is not tit for tat. This is about your mistake, no one else's mistakes.

   And I have never heard of actually requesting a "teachable moment" in lieu of a written warning...is this a thing where you work?

3. Norman60$sbcDecember 6,2023 at 10:48PM UTC

   You start Tit for Tat, you'll be sorry .
   Learn and move on.
   Harm was done. The correct patient might have missed important blood work

4. AnonymousDecember 6,2023 at 11:32PM UTC

   I personally recommend that you do not bring up or question mistakes your manager has made. You may not have all of the details and your manager may have also received disciplinary action due to their mistakes, just because you haven't heard about it doesn't necessarily mean their supervisor didn't have the conversation with them.

   It's also worth mentioning that if you are written up, it may be due to policy, and zero exceptions on it being considered anything less than a write up. It could be completely out of your manager's control except to follow policy.

   Mistakes suck, and no one likes to make them. But we also learn from our mistakes and they make us better. Try and see that your mistake was minimal and had zero impact on the patient when it could have been much, much worse.

5. AnonymousDecember 6,2023 at 11:52PM UTC

   I feel honesty is the best policy. Own up to the mistake you made, apologize for it, assure people you understand and will be more careful going forward. Pointing a finger at someone else’s mistakes will not make you look good at all. Being a grownup about it will.

6. AnonymousDecember 7,2023 at 12:32AM UTC

   This is about YOU! Own up to YOUR mistake! You are dealing with people's health. It does not matter how small you think your error was, it wasn't.

7. AnonymousDecember 7,2023 at 1:18AM UTC

   I assume you are working in a hospital, so some of this may not apply if not.

   How do you know no harm was done? One person who needed blood work done didn't get it [at least on time]. Another got a needle stick and bloodwork that probably had nothing to do with their condition, causing a lot of confusion with their care team (unless the error was discovered before they were "poked.") Needle sticks are not without risks for excessive bleeding or infections when a patient is susceptible to either. Delays in getting blood work done disrupt the flow of the care team(s).

   Plus, your supervisor had to take time away from her other duties to correct your error and bring it to your and both care teams' attention. Take ownership. If you need a refresher of training, offer to do that, but not instead of a writeup, as this is the type of error that hospital policy may require to be written up for liability reasons.

8. Maria MolinariDecember 7,2023 at 4:28AM UTC

   mistakes happen, the best thing to do is always take responsibility for your actions. Yes, it happened but it won’t happen again mentality.

   I for one am completely against calling out others’ mistakes, no matter what. Their actions are their own.

   something like calling them out could be perceived as insubordinate or defensive and I would just steer clear of it.

   overall I say make it known you see the error and ensure that it will not happen again and I think it will bode well

9. AnonymousDecember 7,2023 at 1:10PM UTC

   I worked with a woman that wasn't my boss, started long after me, wasn't in my department, but loved to tattle so she'd feel better. Did NOT end well. I was in accounting and she'd "improve " my system. I am old enough to be her mom

   I'm not perfect but I'll admit an error and learn.

10. AnonymousDecember 7,2023 at 1:13PM UTC

    Step up and take full responsibility for your mistake. You work in a health care setting and you made an error. It probably will become a written warning, and it should be. Knock it off with the teachable moment distraction. Instead, work with your boss to identify steps you'll take next time so you don't repeat this mistake.

    If you choose to call out your boss for her mistakes, to divert attention away from YOUR error, this will not turn out well for you. You will destroy any trust and your job will be in jeopardy. What's your desired outcome there, seriously?

    Hey boss, that blood work / charting error I made. I want to point out that YOU made two huge mistakes recently. Boss to employee: you're right subordinate, no write up for you!

    Get real! As others have said, this will not end well for you.

11. AnonymousDecember 7,2023 at 1:42PM UTC

    whataboutism will do nothing but engender feelings of dislike and an impression of not wanted to take responsibility for your mistake.

12. AnonymousDecember 7,2023 at 1:52PM UTC

    Wow, you feeling you can call out your manager's errors is completely out of line, IMO. Stick with the issue at hand, your mistake. Sure, request it to be an opportunity to be coached and perhaps learn and taking the time to double check your work. OR if you get counseled then recognize an expectation of your responsibilities. Mistakes happen own your and not try to point fingers at others.

13. AnonymousDecember 7,2023 at 3:39PM UTC

    If you call your manager out, you are likely drawing a big target on your back. Just acknowledge the mistake and assure them you will do everything in your power to prevent it from happening again.

14. Jessica FerlandDecember 7,2023 at 4:55PM UTC

    This is not a mistake competition. That is a very defensive response to the predicament you find yourself in. You made a mistake with a patient. You say no harm done, but that patient now needs to find their way back to get their bloodwork done. That may cost them time out of work, managing child care, or other circumstances. You don't know that your manager didn't receive warnings if/when mistakes were made but that is a separate unrelated issue.

15. AnonymousDecember 7,2023 at 7:25PM UTC

    Absolutely do not question if her errors were also written warnings. Any errors she makes are between her and her management team to handle. This sounds like deflection and you come off as very defensive. It's unprofessional at best. You made a mistake. If you feel any eventual consequences of the mistake outweigh the offense, you can register those feelings within the confines of your incident and by following your company's process. There should be no mention of what anyone else has or hasn't done.

16. AnonymousDecember 8,2023 at 11:56AM UTC

    No. No. No. Do not question your boss. If a warning, accept the warning. And on behalf of patients everywhere, I find this to be a big deal. This sounds like harm would have been done and would have become a big deal.

    Play it out for a second-- the wrong patient got the bloodwork-- decisions were made for that patient based on invalid info-- then the other patient hasn't had the proper bloodwork done and things are missed.... it's a potential cascade of negative consequence. Yes it is a big deal. NOT a "small error"

    Accept any warnings with humility and acknowledgement. Tell them you've learned from it. Act with grace, not challenge.

    Should you challenge your boss, I wouldn't blame them if they let you go. Do not do it. Learn from your potentially big mistake, and maybe thank your boss for catching it?

17. AnonymousDecember 8,2023 at 3:40PM UTC

    This 100%

18. AnonymousDecember 8,2023 at 1:51PM UTC

    Deflecting and minimizing your own errors by somehow comparing or contrasting them against others',errors is irresponsible and lame. Don't do it. It doesn't make your errors any less wrong.

19. AnonymousDecember 8,2023 at 3:54PM UTC

    As a person that is on Warfarin due to having a mechanical heart valve, if someone had missed my labs that needed to be done when I was in the hospital it could've caused major problems if my Warfarin levels were too low or too high, including me losing my life.

    Missed labs can be a very major thing, and potentially life threatening to a patient. I definitely wouldn't consider this a minor thing, and you need to take responsibility for your actions and the consequences that come with them.

20. AnonymousDecember 8,2023 at 3:56PM UTC

    Actually, that was a huge error.

    Healthcare is a different situation altogether. One error could cost someone's life. That should not be taken lightly. Accept the consequences whatever they are and please do not minimize the error. It will appear as though you do not care nor get what could of happened regardless of if you feel no harm was done. Harm was actually done though.

    We are all human and no one is exempt from mistakes however what we do after the fact is the most important. Take the write up and learn from it to be more careful and alert. And once you recognize a mistake in the future correct it immediately.

21. AnonymousDecember 9,2023 at 12:21AM UTC

    It's a system error and a person error. The system can be revamped and that is qhat I would focus on.

22. AnonymousDecember 8,2023 at 6:30PM UTC

    It is good that you acknowledge this error especially since it has direct human impact. Why not propose to your manager that it be a teachable moment no matter what own it and then suggest ways to double check and not have it happen again. As for her mistakes that is not for you to judge as you are not her manager and to go tit for tat about that could cause you way more harm than good.

23. AnonymousDecember 9,2023 at 1:24AM UTC

    My friend, harm absolutely was done. Someone received an order for blood work that was not theirs, and someone who needed to have blood work done didn’t get it when they were supposed to. In addition to delays in diagnoses, that is time and money for two patients, because we all know that lab work ain’t free in this healthcare hellscape we live in. It’s also wasted time of several staff members, plus the cost of all the materials for your employer. Not to mention, delay in care for one of the patients that could be life or death.

    Own your mistake, and take the write up if it’s given. Worry about never making a mistake like that again, instead of about what your boss is doing.