Medication Errors & Nursing

Nurses are the health care professionals that collect and prepare medications for patients. They examine the doctor’s orders to see what medications patients are prescribed. Errors can occur in the distribution of these medications. As a result, the nursing ethic of do no harm may not occur. According to McIntyre, Thomlinson, & McDonald, “nurses are held in high regard” (2006, p.360). As such, nurses must keep this positive concept, as we are the health professionals that care for people when they are at their most vulnerable. There is a need for nurses to reflect back to nursing school and use the information taught to guide decisions regarding medications and their administration. This paper will examine medication administration errors as an issue in nursing. I will discuss three articles of which the media’s view, a scholarly article, and a website’s opinion of medication administration errors will be examined. Lastly, an evaluation of these articles based on the author’s credibility, documentation, and support for claims; an evaluation of the author’s disagreements or agreements; and an articulation of my personal position on these issues will be explored. There is a rising trend in media reports of improper drug administration. For this reason, there is a demonstrated need for patient safety. As long as nurses are the health care professionals that administer medications to patients, they may face persecution from the public when medications are given in error. The Canadian Institute for Health Information, reports 1 in 10 people experience a medication error during hospital admissions (2007, p.18). This is a shocking trend if you factor in the rising number of people requiring hospital admissions. An article on CBC news has pointed out this rising problem. This article brought forth an incident in which a patient was given potassium chloride, which is the drug used in lethal injections, intravenously instead of the ordered sodium chloride, which lead to

References: Binks, G. (2007, April 17). Hospital safety. Retrieved, February 18, 2008, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/health/binks-hospital.html Canadian Institute for Health Information (2007, August 14). Patient safety in Canada. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/en/downloads/Patient_Safety_AIB_EN_070814.pdf International Council of Nurses. (n.d.) Nursing matters: Medication errors. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://www.icn.ch/matters_errors.htm McIntyre, M., Thomlinson, E., & McDonald, C. (2006). Realities of Canadian nursing. (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. News Team. (2002, September 23). Survey ranks caregivers in top eight of "most respected" professions. Retrieved February 19, 2008, from http://www.carers.net.nz/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=150&mode=&catid=11&thread&order=0&thold=0 Schelbred, A. -B., & Nord, R. (2007). Nurses’ experiences of drug administration errors. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 60 (3), 317–324. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from Blackwell Synergy database: http://0-www.blackwell-synergy.com.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04437.x