Medication errors - Research Paper Example

Medication Errors of The article by Kerri Wright en d ‘The Role of Nurses in MedicineAdministration Errors’ talks about the culture of blaming nurses for medication errors and how to completely abolish this culture of blame. The author explains that nurses are prone to commit an error in medicine administration, especially during the process of transcribing and administering. Nurses are usually assigned to copy the doctor’s prescription for the handing out of the correct dosage. Nurses are responsible for administering the prescribed medications to several patients.

According to the author, despite of the established safety measures for nurses, medication errors still happen (Wright, 2013). The author believes that this kind of error should not be attributed to carelessness or lack of common sense, but to the failure of the organizational process to prevent them and the growing complexity the health care system. Hence, the author avers that hospital administration should now closely and thoroughly identify and explore the roots of error in the health care institution, and adopt suitable measures to resolve the problem.

Due to the important part that nurses fulfill in medicine administration, any of the causes of error could be encountered and lead to the nurse being blamed for having committed an error in the administration of medications. The article by the Nursing Standard (2013) entitled ‘The Right to be Heard’ discusses the importance of listening to individuals with learning disabilities about their medications. It is important that individuals with a mental illness and learning disability receive the correct medications so as to enhance both their mental and physical wellbeing.

Nevertheless, just like in the case of Joanne Mellor, who died of a heart failure due to error in the administration of her medication, medication errors are quite common incidents, and can have severe outcomes. The cases of mistreatment of patients at Winterbourne View hospital revealed the importance of highly trained, experienced, and professional nurses in the care ‘industry’. Medication errors are common among those with learning disabilities due to the lack of support for nurses. A large number of nurses are underpaid, stressed, and exhausted.

This lack of support is the main cause of high turnover rates among nurses. Health care institutions have to be staffed with professional nurses that are thoroughly trained in medicine administration. These professional nurses know that service users should be listened to, especially when it comes to their medication. The article by Dorothy McCaughan and Gerri Kaufman (2013) entitled ‘Patient Safety: Threats and Solutions’ raises a contentious issue in the importance of enhancing the careful administration of medications and preventing or reducing harmful side effects of medications.

Emphasizing the term ‘error’, the authors raised the importance of ‘prevention’ and appropriate steps or measures to be implemented to prevent errors and enhance patient safety. The authors sum up what is widely known today about patient safety, specifically about medication errors, and demonstrate the usual circumstances resulting in erroneous administration of medications. Examination of major medication errors always shows core system weaknesses, like defective safety practices and human-related inaccuracies that contributed to erroneous prescription or administration and severe damages to the patients.

Implementation of appropriate solutions, such as using information technology, has the potential of enhancing patient safety and medicine administration, but the possibility of committing mistakes will remain except if these appropriate solutions are thoroughly and carefully executed and bigger problems are dealt with. The article by Huey-Ming Tzeng and colleagues (2013) entitled ‘Medication Error-Related Issues in Nursing Practice’ claims that the causes of errors in medicine administration are either system-related or individual.

Hence, the authors believe that in order to minimize the occurrence of errors, the implementation of preventative guidelines is imperative. This article basically sums up the preventative techniques developed by nurses. The article also emphasizes the role of nurses in the prevention of medication errors. Their caution, attentiveness, and compliance to precaution guidelines are major aspects for avoiding medication errors. The authors also argued that reforms at the attributes of health systems regarding the administration of medications comprise another aspect to safeguard patients from such harmful mistakes.

The eradication of medication errors is obviously not an easy endeavor, but minimizing their occurrences is still possible. The authors conclude that the prevention of all forms of nursing errors creates a strong culture of patient safety. References McCaughan, D., & Kaufman, G. (2013). Patient safety: Threats and solutions. Nursing Standard, 27(44), 48-55. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.adelphi.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ec398966-3d18-4ea5-a467-97820aa75954%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=114 Nursing Standard. (2013). The right to be heard.

Nursing Standard, 27(47), 26-7. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.adelphi.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a1be1b9d-1047-4cc5-8ea4-a480c0a67076%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=114 Tzeng, H., et al. (2013). Medication error-related issues in nursing practice. MEDSURG Nursing, 22(1), 13-50. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.adelphi.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ab625e48-21fc-4f69-bd8d-0ba007a3a394%40sessionmgr198&vid=1&hid=114 Wright, K. (2013). The role of nurses in medicine administration errors.

Nursing Standard, 27(44), 35-40. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.adelphi.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b5a4231e-ecbd-44ef-9f6f-1481c91ac43c%40sessionmgr112&vid=1&hid=114