Essay On Medication Errors And Environmental Conditions
Medication Errors and Environmental Conditions Introduction: A medication error is defined as any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer ("National Coordinating Counsel for Medical Error and Prevention," 2015, p. 1). Medication errors, when pertaining to nursing, are typically caused by either active failures or latent conditions. Active failures often display themselves as a form of incorrect drug calculations, lack of individual knowledge, and failure to follow established work place protocol. Latent conditions refer to time pressures, fatigue, understaffing (patient- nurse ratio increase), inexperience, and inadequate equipment (Carlton & Blegen, 2006). Environmental Conditions: In 2008, researchers estimated that potentially preventable adverse drug events kill 7,000 Americans annually and that medication errors that result in harm are the number-one cause of inpatient fatalities. While error rates vary widely among facilities, experts believe at least one medication error occurs per hospital patient every day (Anderson & Townsend, 2010, p. 24). Some of the most common medication errors that occur in the acute healthcare setting is due to the latent conditions. Nurses that reported working in …show more content…
Other preventions include: following protocols, following the six rights to medication admission, consulting other team members, knowledge of the medication, double checking all medication calculations, and taking the time needed to perform these steps properly (Hudson, 2014, p.
Electronic Medication Error In Long-Term Care
206 Words | 1 PagesStrategies are methods or plans that solves a problem; strategies are essential to resolve issues to be able to prevent them from happening again and it helps to do a better job. Computerized physician’s order, electronic medication administration record with a barcode and reviewing the practice standards from CNO such as medication and documentation are the suggested strategies to inhibit the incidents and the breached ethical values from occurring again. Moreover, using information technology is the first strategy to impede medication error in the long-term care facility where an ethical value such as commitment to client was breached.
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579 Words | 3 PagesSix months after the introduction of medication aides, error rates were as follows: RN (2.75%), LPN (7.25%) and medication aides (6.06%) with a mean error rate of 6.6%” Randolph & Scott-Calwiezell (2010) as cited in Budden (2011). While errors remain, the objective of reducing inaccuracies among primary nursing staff was achieved by
QSEN Competencies In Nursing
892 Words | 4 PagesAlong with how the culture of safety influences changes in the system. In this scenario, a RN mistakenly administers an incorrect dose of a medication to an infant. When the mistake was discovered, it was reported an investigation began to determine how this occurred. The investigation team not only investigated the administering nurse, but also the pharmacy, the unit in which the mistake happened, the process in which medication is administered, and the purchasing department. The report found that there were multiple breakdowns in the system.
Low Nurse Staffing Essay
507 Words | 3 PagesMoreover, several studies have been conducted to examine the effects of low nurse staffing on patients hospitalization experiences, as well as its effect on nurse careers in the long run. A recent study by Frith, Anderson, Tseng, and Fong (2012) to explore the relationship between nurse staffing and medication errors, demonstrated that medication errors were higher in a cardiac care unit and non-cardiac care unit when staffing levels were lower. In addition, Frith et al. (2012) pointed out that medication errors increase by 18% for every 20% decrease in nurse staffing below the average due to failure to follow medication administration protocol As mentioned earlier, nurses perform the last and the most important step of medication administration. Thus, having adequate time to assess each patient efficiently and following the medication rights is critical to provide safe patient care and prevent errors.
Nursing Peer Review Paper
795 Words | 4 PagesAlso the lack of nurses on the floor causing work to be over look. Not double checking the documents of when the last dosage of medication was given. Another factor to medication errors is high work flow during shifts. The mislabeling of the medication has cause nurse to choose the wrong medicine. Making sure the label is scanned on the medication to see if the correct information pulls up.
Nursing Medication Errors
2353 Words | 10 PagesNurses' perceptions of how physical environment affects medication errors in acute care settings Introduction "Medication errors results from the interaction of multiple factors that include regulatory environment, organizational leadership and commitment, management policies and procedures, complexity of tasks involved, work culture, and physical environment" (Chaudhury, Mahmood, & Valente, 2009, p. 229). Health care services that nurses perform in the hospital environments are physically and psychologically intense, which can potentially result in burnout, stress, and medication errors. Crowded and poorly designed work spaces are factors that contribute to staff stress, resulting in the risk of increase medication errors (Chaudhury et al., 2009). Ulrich, Zimring, Quan, Joseph, and Choudhary, 2004 (as cited in Chaudhury et al., 2009) "argued that reduction of nursing staff stress and error by physical environmental dimensions (such as air quality, acoustics, lighting, and so on) can have a significant impact on staff health and efficiency" (p. 230). There is limited research on the how physical environment affects medication errors.
Npsa Patient Safety Report
487 Words | 2 PagesDuring treatment, there are numerous people with various types of health-care providers including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and several more involved in handling the patient,(Who.int,2015).Therefore, there is an increased difficulty in ensuring safe care, unless there is an effective system designed to facilitate any general probable issues.(Who.int,2015). Thus, harmful effects can arise from problems within the practice, with the products, the procedures or the systems. Patient safety therefore demands an intricate system wide effort which involves a wide range of actions surrounding performance improvement, environmental safety and proper risk management which focuses on infection control, the safe use and handling of medicines, equipment safety and creating a safe clinical environment to care for the
A Brief Note On Recognizing And Understanding Medication Safety
1259 Words | 6 PagesRecognizing, acknowledging, and understanding medication safety is important when administering medications. Understanding which medications are high-risk ones, being familiar with the medications being given, remembering the five most important rights when administering medications, communicating clearly, developing checking habits, and reporting the medication errors will lead to safe outcomes for the residents. However, errors do occur from a lack of experience, rushing, distractions, fatigue, doing too many things at once, not double checking, poor communication, and lack of team work. It is not only the staff that commit errors, but also the work environment that contributes to the medication error. Two examples are poor reporting systems
Fisher Week Three Response To Mcconnelly: Case Study
150 Words | 1 PagesFisher Week Three Response to McConnelly Yvonne, your post was extremely intriguing to me as a community health department is not an environment I have had the privilege of experiencing. Interestingly, the utilization of computerized order entry does not prevent the prescriber from ordering an incorrect medication dose or the wrong drug (Lapane, Waring, Dube’, & Schneider, 2011). Do the facility employ process to assure nurses are checking the medication in order to avoid the administration of an incorrect drug or dosage? Distractions have been linked to medication errors, consequently, and the ability to care for a solitary patient at one time clearly minimizes the distractions and interruptions that a nurse may experience during medication
Medication Overuse Essay
926 Words | 4 PagesIn today's fast-paced world, it's all too easy to pop a pill for every ache and pain, from a headache to a hangnail. We've become a society that's quick to reach for the medicine cabinet instead of taking the time to understand what's truly ailing us. While medication can be a lifesaver for those suffering from serious illnesses or chronic pain, the overuse of medication has become a growing concern. It's time to take a step back and ask ourselves: are we really taking care of ourselves, or are we simply masking our problems with a quick fix? Historically, medication is the major instrument for treating illnesses and managing symptoms in the healthcare business.
Essay On Medication Errors In Nursing
1497 Words | 6 PagesMedication Errors in Healthcare The nursing profession entails many responsibilities that range from providing emotional support to administering medications that could result in death for those receiving care. Approximately 40% of a nurse's day consists of passing medication, a duty that sets their level of liability above many other healthcare professions (McCuistion, Vuljoin-DiMaggio, Winton, Yeager, & Kee, 2018). Despite today's advances in technology and nursing education, the frequency of medication errors is still staggering. To ensure that the benefits of nursing outweigh the risks, nurses look to the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) six core competencies for guidance.
Heart Failure
1743 Words | 7 PagesIt is not only a problem for outpatients; inpatients are victims of human error as well. Oftentimes when hospitals are understaffed and over worked, healthcare workers tend to make simple mistakes that cause not so simple problems for the patients’ wellbeing. In addition to polypharmacy, medication mix-ups are common. For example, in his article, “Medication Errors”, Michael Cohen explains how similar packaging can appear for prescription medications.
Patient Communication: Consequences Of Ineffective Communication
1853 Words | 8 PagesMedication use is potentially dangerous. Polypharmacy is increasing, and makes it harder to keep track of side effects and interactions and of potentially inappropriate drug combinations. “The risk of serious consequences, hospitalization, and death due to medication errors increases with patients’ age and number of medications (Scand J Prim Health Care, 2012)”. For example, the GP is supposed to monitor the patient's regular medication, but does not always do so. Lack of monitoring and keeping track of patients’ medication use is a main cause when a patient is given inappropriate drugs.
Essay On Safe Medication Administration
461 Words | 2 PagesSafe medication administration is a big aspect of nursing care, because if medications aren’t given safely, then it can lead to some serious adverse effects to the patients. There are many things that can go wrong, and that’s why nurses have to be very careful when handling and giving medications. Nurses can make mistakes, and give the wrong med, give it to the wrong person, or even give too much or too little of the drug. Careful medication administration can lead to not making big mistakes that can lead to hurting others. “Medication Administration is a complex multistep process that encompasses prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, and administering drugs and monitoring patient response.”
Reflection Paper On Medication Administration
905 Words | 4 PagesEvidence-based resources/books are available to prevent medication error, strategies to be used to ensure correct medication administration and high alert medication require extra caution when administering can improve the student nurse’s ability to think analytically and solve medication administration problems. The Nursing student must be taught math calculation for medication administration often. Adequate practice with real problem solving can effectively reinforce these skills and provide the
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