All you techs/tech assistants what has been your worst clinical mistake?

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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BuddyLove86

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I made my first mistake today as a tech by overdosing on an oral antibiotic. There should be not problems or I do not know how to deal with it. I do know humans are not perfect and everyone makes mistakes.

Thanks for your stories...
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everone does make mistakes--at the clinic where i work now, the doc calculates the dose, so this would be less likely to happen. We also have double checks (two people initial) on all prescriptions filled. I really like this idea, even though it seems like a pain. Several years ago, I did not correctly fasten a cage door and a cat got out during the night. everything turned out ok, since the cat ward was locked. I now double and triple check my doors. I make less serious mistakes somewhat regularly, and the more I learn, the more I realize that I know nothing.
 
Oh man, on the topic of leaving a cage door unlocked and a cat running amok - I think the worst thing that happened to me was once when some clients brought a feral cat in in a cardboard box with the top from a birdcage around it. The clinic was being renovated at the time, so half of it was behind a tarp and open to the outside because of builders and such going in and out. Well, I was attempting to put the cat in a cage and as soon as I lifted the birdcage, it leaped out and ran between the tarp and the wall, and outside. We ended up catching the cat after about an hour, so it has an okay ending, but man did I feel awful.

Then the same day to top it of I got bitten by a dog that was our third appointment of the day and had to go to the ER (it was a Saturday) and get stitches.

Not my best day as a tech....
 
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I accidentally mixed bordatella vax with the powder type DHLPP thing instead of the lepto thing... which would never work because bordatella is nasal... and then I was upset and squirted the syringe in the sink, but I accidentally got rid of the perfectly good rabies vax instead. ARG. And just today I apparently didn't properly "snap" the snap test and it didn't activate right... however I managed that. Point is, I've been there a month and a half and I still feel lost a lot of the time, and I'm usually anxious about making another mistake. But I still love the job, despite all that.
 
I drew up cat vaccines for a dog once. I had taken a vacation for a couple of weeks and the switched the side of the vaccines in the fridge, so when I reached in blindly (the fridge was in a tight space), I grabbed the wrong vaccines. Fortunately the vet noticed the color was off, and I drew up the right ones. I felt really embarrassed, but it never happened again.
 
I've done worse than all of you!

So in the past few weeks I've just been totally off. I've been working there part time for 4 months now. and i volunteered there for a couple of months last summer

1. one of the temp doctors there doesnt like me and yelled at me for writing "too much" about the pets problem. or he called me stupid because i asked if they needed help restraining a dog...instead of just jumping in. or he yelled at me b/c i didnt listen to him properly about making 2 appts at the same time....eventhough one of the clients said it was an emergency....and then at the end of the day he tells me that this particular client just overreacts (i didnt know that). I gave a vaccine to a dog in front of this doctor...gave it that bump....and he was like "now i have to tell the clients why that happened!"

2. i went to take a boarding dog out for a walk (we were closed) but at the exact moment the dog ran out of the room, a tech was walking out of the hospital...so the dog ran outside. the tech turned around and picked him up...but i was FREAKING out!

3. this happened just yesterday....i forgot to tell the main dr (who is totally nice to me,and i like her) that she had a client in one of the rooms. so the client waited like 20 min. till he stepped out and asked if he was ever going to see the dr. I went to apologize to the dr. after she smoothed everything with the client...and she was like "that was you? well, just so you know, you have to remind me and make sure that i know where the clients are..." i felt so bad

4. I do a lot of reception work also and we dont make appts for vaccines....and someone wrote a report about me making exam appts for vaccines....which i KNOW i wouldnt do. so that bothered me.


Anyway...whats really crappy is that i still have to ask the doctor (mistake #3) for a LOR. soooo, im just really nervous now because she seen that i've messed up pretty bad. So hopefully next week i'll shine and ask her then. wish me luck!
 
When I was about 13 or 14 I did a one day job shadow at a Vet clinic for school and I almost tripped over a dog's breathing tube which might have dragged the dog onto the floor or something awful like that. :eek:
I think one of the assistants gave me a very dirty look when that almost happened, I'm glad I didn't end up tripping on it!
 
ckgilabert said:
I've done worse than all of you!

So in the past few weeks I've just been totally off. I've been working there part time for 4 months now. and i volunteered there for a couple of months last summer

1. one of the temp doctors there doesnt like me and yelled at me for writing "too much" about the pets problem. or he called me stupid because i asked if they needed help restraining a dog...instead of just jumping in. or he yelled at me b/c i didnt listen to him properly about making 2 appts at the same time....eventhough one of the clients said it was an emergency....and then at the end of the day he tells me that this particular client just overreacts (i didnt know that). I gave a vaccine to a dog in front of this doctor...gave it that bump....and he was like "now i have to tell the clients why that happened!"

2. i went to take a boarding dog out for a walk (we were closed) but at the exact moment the dog ran out of the room, a tech was walking out of the hospital...so the dog ran outside. the tech turned around and picked him up...but i was FREAKING out!

3. this happened just yesterday....i forgot to tell the main dr (who is totally nice to me,and i like her) that she had a client in one of the rooms. so the client waited like 20 min. till he stepped out and asked if he was ever going to see the dr. I went to apologize to the dr. after she smoothed everything with the client...and she was like "that was you? well, just so you know, you have to remind me and make sure that i know where the clients are..." i felt so bad

4. I do a lot of reception work also and we dont make appts for vaccines....and someone wrote a report about me making exam appts for vaccines....which i KNOW i wouldnt do. so that bothered me.


Anyway...whats really crappy is that i still have to ask the doctor (mistake #3) for a LOR. soooo, im just really nervous now because she seen that i've messed up pretty bad. So hopefully next week i'll shine and ask her then. wish me luck!
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I wouldn't sweat any of the stuff that has happened to you, it seems to be all normal things that happen as we learn, it just sounds like one of your docs needs an attitude adjustment, but temp docs can be like that.

I remember a time when a run in back wasn't properly latched and an 80lb German Shepard that was getting neutered pushed out of it and flew out the back door when someone opened it. We were chasing the dog up and down busy streets but he wouldn't come to us. Finally, we had to call the owner to come down and help us retrieve him, mind you this happened on April Fool's day, so the owner wouldn't believe me at first. We got the dog back, but his pads were torn up pretty badly from running on asphalt for so long and had to be bandaged, he really covered some territory.

There was also the time a tech in one of our associate hospitals didn't release the pop-off valve when she gave a dog a breath during surgery and ended up killing the dog. The valves have now been replaced with new valves so that won't happen again.
 
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LucyLoo said:
There was also the time a tech in one of our associate hospitals didn't release the pop-off valve when she gave a dog a breath during surgery and ended up killing the dog. The valves have now been replaced with new valves so that won't happen again.
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See, THIS is my biggest fear. Not this situation specifically - we have a tank and stuff, so I don't think it even applies - but something that could potentially HURT a patient. Like, not turning down the Iso when I should, forgetting to turn on the oxygen, giving incorrect vaccines or medication... heck, anything!

Our exam room table is a scale. When you turn the knob to lock the mechanism back into place after you're done weighing the animal, it makes a loud "click!" noise unless you're careful. I almost had a small, old, arthritic dog go flying off the table because the noise scared her and I didn't even think about it. What if she had broken her legs or something??

I brought my own dog (my icon) in for a dental. I was thinking to myself that I would have to watch her breathing very closely and be extra careful making her vaccines because I'd never want to hurt her. Then, I nearly slapped myself in the face for being so stupid. EVERY animal that sets foot into that clinic should be treated just like they were my own.

Anyway... I think everyone worries. I guess we should just go over things carefully in our head, double and triple check what needs to be done, and let rude comments about silly things like "writing too much in a patient's file about their symptoms" or "making two appointments at once" just roll off our backs.
 
The vet examining the dog had me move into a weird position to restrain the dog while she looked at it. Instead of telling her I was uncomfortable holding the dog at that angle, I went ahead and did my best. I had most of my weight over the dog and very little planting me to the ground. Well the dog shifted its weight after the vet drew blood while I was holding down on the spot. This threw me off balance and me and the dog went onto the floor.

Most embarrassing thing I've ever done I think. Bad enough the vet saw me do it but clients were in the room too. In my defense though it was a 140 pound dog lol.


BUT I never let go of the puncture spot throughout the fall. So there's that...



Edit: Oh and for a while the vet got mad at me for writing too much as well. She said something along the lines of it's a history of the patient, not a biography.
 
I was giving a hospitalized dog some IV meds through his IV extension line. I don't remember what the exact medications were because it was a while ago, but I gave all 3 of the medications in the same port. The medications reacted with each other and ended up crystallizing in the IV line! =/ Learned an important lesson there...

This didn't happen to me, but there was a euthanasia that was going to be done in the back area. The tech who administered the euthasol accidentally euthanized the wrong pet!! They failed to realize there was two different cats with the same names... that must have been horrible... I can't even imagine the chaos that would have caused.

When I worked at a speciality referral hospital, one of the techs from oncology accidently gave too much of a new chemotherapy drug on a dog. The dog was hospitalized immediately, but after 12 hours, he really started going downhill and they ended up having to euthanize him. Me and some of the other techs were with the owners when they came in to visit and euthanize their doggy... it was truly a horrendous experience for the owners. The tech who overdosed the dog was fired of course. Sad story... But shows how truly important it is to check, recheck, and triple check the amount of drugs you are giving to your patient!
 
I once shut a cat's tail in the cage door. It started meowing very strangely and I sat there looking at it wondering what was wrong for about 10 seconds. I almost called over a doctor to take a look at the cat! Then I saw its tail sticking out through the crack in the door. The cat's tail was fine, thank goodness. Boy am I glad I didn't call a doctor over to tell me what the problem was :p
 
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I think I've mentally blocked all my mistakes from my memory as a defense mechanism. :)
 
I was drawing blood from a cat and pulled the syringe back and instead of blood there was a clear/yellowish fluid. The cat had a cyst in that area and I had aspirated it! haha, cat was fine though! I once called someone about their dog , the dogs name was "Fluffy" Smith or something like that. Well there was another Fluffy Smith in the computer apparently and when I called to tell them their heartworm test was negative, it was an older woman who said Fluffy had died several years ago but she really hoped this Fluffy was ok!
 
The vet I worked for was in the back drawing blood from a pure white papillon with a very uppity owner. It was routine for the vet to take the blood, and then I was to hold the puncture site for about 1 minute until she came back to check to see if the puncture site looked okay. So there I was, holding the puncture site at the jugular vein when Dr. came back over to check it. I looked down and the poor little dog's white coat was COVERED in blood. He was panting hard and I was freaking out. Apparently I put pressure right below the puncture site and created a tourniquet. The vet I worked for was pretty hateful about it, and I was shamefully banished to the back to bathe the dog. When the vet came back to check she grabbed the dog from me and viciously told me I was being too gentle as she started feverously scrubbing off the blood.

The dog ended up being totally fine, but the owner was a little confused on why it took so long to draw blood. Oh well, lesson learned. :oops:
 
Kat, yours made me think about this spring when I was working vaccine clinic here at UTK. It's for students to give vaccines and heartworm tests to animals owned by students, faculty, and staff. Anyway, I was in a room with a couple of other first-years and a professor and his all-white dog. I went to draw blood for a heartworm test and it bled EVERYWHERE. (Gotta love white dogs.) Then there was no H202 in the room, so we had to go and search the treatment rooms for it. YIKES! I get really sheepish around that professor now and I seem to run into him everywhere!
 
similar experience with white dogs...

i forget what breed, but i was restraining while a tech was drawing blood. this dog was a real pain, and like moving everywhere, so first the other tech tried front leg, got in for a second, but then the dog freaked out. so the tech then decided to try on the back leg. well, i held off the front leg for a good minute or so, glanced down at it, everything looked fine. so we start on the back leg...get the blood we need and then realize that the dog's ENTIRE front leg is just covered and soaked in blood. to top it off, because it had still been moving around a bit, there was blood on the other front leg and on it's chest.
i felt like a royal idiot and that it was somehow all my fault, but the doctor and tech were really nice...essentially just chalking it up to high blood pressure and that it was "no big deal".

but yeah, the streaming red blood on a pure white dog is always one to give you a bit of a shock.
 
Hey all!

SO,... one day, I guess this cat came in for something-or other (a dental, I think) and post-op was getting a bolus. I had just been instructed on how to run the fluid pumps the day before, so I was all ready to work 'em.

I heard the cat's pump go off, and I go over to check it. Not realizing that it was only getting a 100mL bolus, I thought it was just getting a slow drip until it was ready to go. (And sometimes, for some reason, the techs @ our hospital put less than 1000mL as the amount, even when the patient is supposed to get the whole bag, plus more) So, I STUPIDLY thought; "Hm, I wonder why this stopped. Must have just been twisted. I'll re-start them."

I am such a ******. The poor kitty ended up getting the WHOLE liter, and of course super-fast.
I prayed SO hard that night that the cat would pee, and still be alive the next day. Which, thank my lucky stars, it did, and it was. :D
I was seriously doubting my own abilities to pursue Vet. Med. for a while after that one... but luckily for the kitty, my stupid mistake didn't result in his demise.
 
pyxystyx said:
(And sometimes, for some reason, the techs @ our hospital put less than 1000mL as the amount, even when the patient is supposed to get the whole bag, plus more)
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We set the VTBI low intentionally at my hospital so if there is an accidental bolus, it isn't a large volume :oops: ... and so that the line is less likely to go to air. Cats < 100 mL, big dogs < 500 mL.

pyxystyx said:
I prayed SO hard that night that the cat would pee, and still be alive the next day. Which, thank my lucky stars, it did, and it was. :D
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Sounds like the fluids didn't have any additives, which is good. If it had something like Fentanyl or even KCl, kitty would be in deep doo-doo.

Oh, to answer the OP - I've accidentally double-vaccinated a cat that had been vaccinated the day earlier because it wasn't on the cat's chart (but was in the computer, and I didn't check both places before administering it). Told the Doc right away, they said to check on it frequently for about an hour, and it turned out ok.
 
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Well hello everyone, I'm pre-dent but have been a vet tech for 5 years so I have some pretty good stories. Here's my favorite all-time worst moment ever:

We euthanized a fat old cat and had it tagged in the freezer for a private cremation but the owner changed her mind and decided that she wanted to take it home and bury it instead. Well, the cat had been in the freezer for a day so it was rock solid frozen, but she wanted to take it then anyway. So I went and got it out of the freezer and went to put it in a box, but she insisted on me just taking it out to her car in the garbage bag so I complied and followed her out to her car holding a garbage back with her hugely obese frozen cat in it. Well, of course, the trash bag broke, which is bad enough, but then the freaking cat BROKE when it hit the pavement! I am not even joking, its freaking paw came clear off, I have no idea how but needless to say me and the owner both lost it. So now there's 2 pieces of a dead frozen cat in the parking lot in front of tons of people. Oh man it was a disaster. Anyway, we switched to thick cadaver bags after that but the damage was done.

Anyway, letting dogs bleed out, overdoing fluids, etc., aren't very big mistakes, don't sweat them. As an example of a real screw up, a shelter nearby euthanized a microchipped dog 10 minutes AFTER calling the owner to tell them their dog was at the shelter, big mistake by someone. Needless to say, the manager lost her job, the owners sued, and the shelter ended up closing down from all the negative publicity.
 
Lol Gbrando. I was reading that and when you said that the cat was frozen solid I was thinking 'oh god it didn't drop did it?'.

It sprang to mind immediately because it happened at our clinic as well but it was the tail that broke off and luckily the owner was the one giving the cat to us from their freezer so they weren't too upset (they thought it was pretty funny really).
 
At the clinic i used to work at the freezer was downstairs. Now, this wasn't exactly a mistake that got anybody into trouble, but I had just assisted doc with the euth of a HUGE bloodhound...we started carrying him down the stairs to get to the freezer and he lost grip, so I slipped and accidentally let go, and poor floppy fido went sliding down the stairs (kind of like kids like to do on their butts) It was so traumatizing to think if the owners had been there, or what if that were my dog! That one only popped into my mind after reading the frozen kitty posts.

Speaking of white animals blowing veins: Fact of Life! :p
 
Gbrando2 said:
shelter nearby euthanized a microchipped dog 10 minutes AFTER calling the owner to tell them their dog was at the shelter, big mistake by someone. Needless to say, the manager lost her job, the owners sued, and the shelter ended up closing down from all the negative publicity.
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I'm just curious, where are you located? Because I heard almost the exact same story referring to a local shelter out by me, regarding the reason for their closing and changing ALL employees in Animal Services administration...
 
not so much a mistake, but something to think about....

post sx patients frequently get a heating source, esp the small patients. we like to save money at our clinic (who doesn't) so we use tube socks filled with dry rice and throw it in the microwave (works pretty well and you can throw it away when they get dirty or wash it). Anyways, the kitten was waking up and was doped up and apparently very munchy. We had a lunch meeting and half way through I decided to check on our sx patients and came to the back to find out that the kitty had decided to chew a hole in the sock and eat the dry rice! Luckily it all turned out fine, but I'll always try to foresee problems now!
 
Every give a sub-q injection on a massively dehydrated animal only to watch it pour down their side because you put the needle all the way through? Yup, watched $10 worth of convenia dribble down the side of a cat. Whoops.

One of the funniest things had to be a coworker who was drawing up a large(>20mL) dose of a propofol and wasnt paying attention. Pulled the plunger a little too far and spilled it all over the floor....
 
We use those rice socks at OKSU... someone accidentally set the microwave for 10:00 instead of 01:00 minutes... it caught on fire... was interesting. No one was hurt, nothing bad happened - just needed a new microwave - but it proved how easy it is for accidents to happen. Smelled like popcorn throughout the building for a few days, too.
 
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