Medication Errors In Nursing

Medication errors are an unfortunate occurrence in medical settings all throughout the world. Despite the best efforts of both nurses and physicians, medication errors occur on a daily basis. A medication error is not simply giving the wrong medication, it may consist of giving a drug via the wrong route, at the wrong time, or at the wrong dose. Statistics reported often vary, however the Food and Drug Administration reports that at least seven thousand people die annually as the result of medication errors. Every patient is at risk for being the victim of at least one medication error (“Strategies,” n.d.).
Many factors contribute to medication errors. Among the most common are miscommunication among the health care team and nurses neglecting to follow institutional and professional policies, including the five rights of medication administration. Another cause is nurses being interrupted or distracted during medication administration or preparation. The nurse may need to halt preparing medications to take care of a secondary task, leading to multitasking which may contribute to an error in administration. Attending to a new, additional task increases the risk of an error with one or both tasks as the stress of the distraction or interruption causes cognitive fatigue, which may lead to an omission, mental lapse, and mistakes (“Side Tracks,” 2012).

Being among the most trusted of health care professionals, nurses have an enormous responsibility to provide proper care to clients and avoid medication errors as much as possible.

Even if no harm befalls the patient, the nurse may find him or herself fearing for the patient’s safety, their own personal liability, and fearing any possible consequences. The American Nurses Association states that in the vast majority of cases, medication errors cause no harm to the patient, yet often cause the nurse to question their clinical confidence, fear for the patient’s safety, and fear personal consequences (“Near Misses,”

n.d.).
Recommended strategies to avoid medication errors include double checking orders, following institutional policies, and perhaps more importantly, the five rights of administration. Following the five rights helps to ensure that the right drug is given to the right client, via the correct route, time, and in the correct dose. By doing so, an error may be prevented before reaching the patient.
In addition, the nurse must remember to treat patients holistically, and not merely treat the presenting symptoms. Performing a complete physical and history on a patient also gives the nurse a better insight into how care should be tailored for each individual client. Treating the client as a human being and not a disease gives the nurse an opportunity to detect patient problems that may otherwise go unnoticed. By double checking the health care provider’s order, and making sure all information matches to the patient, serious adverse effects caused by medication errors can be prevented (“Near Misses,” n.d.).
In 2002, the Food and Drug Administration presented a new regulation mandating that certain drugs be labeled with a bar code. The bar codes are similar to those found on items in a supermarket, and are scanned in a manner resembling purchasing an item. This regulation has helped to reduce the number of errors by ensuring the five rights of administration (“Strategies,” n.d.).
In conclusion, adverse drug events can be avoided and health care providers can ensure a continuing decline in such incidences if they carefully observe the rules and responsibilities of their role. To achieve this, it is important that legislative measures remain in place to ensure these measures are effectively kept and followed.