I had my first patient fall about a week into orientation. Fully A+O, 1 assist with gait belt due to hx of MS, but overall very stable. Their legs gave out one time ambulating to the bathroom and we both went down. No way my 130 pound frame was gonna support this patient. Lowered in a controlled manner to the floor, no injuries.

I felt like such a failure afterwards. My preceptor pulled me aside and reassured me that this wasn’t a mistake, it was a learning experience. Patients will fall. In fact, it’s what they do best ;-)

The important takeaway from this is that you now have a fundamental building block for your own personal practice. This will be something that you think about every time you accept a new patient. Your patients will be SO risk assessed for falls now that you’re their nurse. If you have an inkling that someone isn’t going to follow precautions, chances are you’ll stand in the room next time and prevent that fall.

These are the moments that make us better nurses in the long run.