Drug Errors in Nursing - Essay Example

It is important for the nursing profession to have an understanding of the factors that contribute to medication administration errors and impinge on the safety of the patient (Carlton & Blegen, 2006).
In the United Kingdom errors in the administration of medication is on the rise and are a growing concern for all the stakeholders in the health care delivery system. According to Banning, 2006, estimates from studies show that the incidence of medication errors ranges between thirty-five to seventy percent. This is a high rate of incidence, particularly when it is taken into consideration that such medication errors could have fatal consequences with special emphasis on the elderly and the very young. These figures by themselves are alarming but become even more poignant when we take into consideration the underreporting of medication errors, as pointed out by Anotonow, Smith, and Silver, 2000.
Among the factors that contribute to drug errors is the lack of proper pharmacological knowledge of the drugs that lead to overdosage or under dosage or wrong usage. Attitudes of the nursing professional play on their updating of pharmacology knowledge of medication, and it is surprising that complacency exists despite growing concern. This complacent attitude of nursing professionals breaches the duty that they have towards their patients and has adverse implications for patient safety (Preston, 2004). Thus it becomes necessary for nursing professionals to understand that there is a deficiency in their pharmacology knowledge of drugs, which is having a negative impact on the safety of patients in their care.

3. Introduction:

The beneficial and toxic effects of many plants and animal materials were known in prehistoric times and the foundations of pharmacology emerged from these experiences of humankind. Katzung, 2004, defines pharmacology as “the study of substances that interact with living systems through chemical processes, especially by binding to regulatory molecules and activating or inhibiting normal body processes”. Medical pharmacology is based on pharmacology and is the science that deals with the use of
substances to prevent diagnose and treat disease.
In very simple terms drugs are substances that bring about a change in biological functions, as a result of their chemical action. Quite often molecules of drugs interact with specific molecules called receptors in a biological system. These receptors have a regulatory role within the biological system. The evolution of pharmacology and advances in science and technology have made available to humankind a plethora of drugs that are used for beneficial therapeutic effects in the health care system (Katzung, 2004).