Medication Errors in Nursing - Essay Example

22 September Medication Error How did I allow this to happen? Medication errors are a very serious issue in nursing. “Approximately 1.3 million people are injured annually in the United States following so-called "medication errors"” (Stoppler). I also made one such error that I have shared in this paper. I had worked my full shift that was scheduled for 12 hours but decided to stay in the hospital for another 4 to 5 hours to make sure that the hospital was not short-staffed. Although it was a common perception that constant working spanning more than 12 hours increases the likelihood of making errors for the nurses in the hospital, but I thought I was a little too confident and agile to let that happen to me. I had overstayed in the hospital several times before and had done my duties perfectly, and I expected to do the same this time. There was a patient who had been recently diagnosed with cancer. She was being moved into the operating room for a permanent placement of intravenous line inside her chest. The medical team had resolved to postpone the chemotherapy for a day or two in the morning rounds, but the doctor in charge decided to do the chemotherapy the very night. I was already taking care of three patients and nothing new was in my plan till then. The patient was soon to arrive from the operating room while I had several orders of chemotherapy to check on my part, not just once, but double-check before forwarding them to the pharmacy so that administration could be commenced. After completing the checks, I went to see the patient who had by the time come out of the operating room. The patient was feeling very hungry, but the hospital kitchen was closed. So I took jam and bread from the pantry to make a sandwich for her. I noticed an unusual leak in the IV line of the patient as she tried it. We had not encountered such a problem before. Even the surgeon had come back from his home to check if everything was alright. After the checkup, everything was found to be fine so I provided the patient with the chemotherapy that was scheduled for her. I was feeling very exhausted but deep inside, I was satisfied that I had made it. I felt like a Superman who could do it all. The next morning, I was awakened by a phone call that was too early for the regular calling time. Actually that there was still a chemo dose in the table in the hospital as I had provided the patient with just one dose instead of two that were supposed to be given. I could feel electric shocks run down my spine. In chemotherapy, the drugs’ timing can alter the treatment’s quality and effectiveness. I was very worried to have put the patient into such a compromising situation and she might even die because of lack of proper treatment in time just because of the mistake I had made. It felt as if I had breached my contract with myself as a nurse. As a nurse, nothing is more important for me than the safety and security of the patients. Any danger caused to my patient because of my mistake could have a life-long impact on my career as well as my perception of myself as a nurse. However, I was fortunate as my mistake had not caused any clinical consequences to the patient. There was a certain time frame within which the second drug was supposed to be given after the first dose, and there were some hours still left for the second dose to be provided. So everything was fine thus far. When I saw the doctor at the hospital the next day, I was very ashamed of my mistake and I apologized for it. The doctor reassured me that the treatment had gone fine. What should I have done differently? I should not have opted to stay in the hospital for any time beyond my regular shift of duty hours based on 12 hours. Although I was feeling active enough to continue, yet I was deceiving myself because the reality had shown itself in terms of my mistake. I might not be tired physically, but I was exhausted mentally. This was the fundamental reason why I had forgotten the time when I had to provide the patient with the second dose of chemo. Had I left after the completion of my shift, I would have avoided the risk. However, when I had decided to overstay and I was assigned the responsibility to provide the patient with the doses, I should have carefully noted down the time at which both the doses were supposed to be given. Ideally, I should have kept the second dose above the table rather than in its drawer so that I could catch a glimpse of it and remember the second dose in case I had forgotten about it. What behavior will I exhibit that proves it will not happen again? A nurse should make every possible effort to take some rest after a continuous 12-hour shift. Every nurse is a human being first and then a professional. Dedication to one’s profession is appreciable, but not when it happens at the cost of someone’s life. It is equally important for the nurses as well as the doctors in charge to realize this reality of decline in performance because of tiredness. So I shall never overstay beyond the regular duty hours. I shall also make a note of all the medicines along with the times at which they have to be provided to a certain patient. What will I do to make sure on other resident is affected? I shall try to create awareness among the nurses as well as the hospital’s administration regarding their roles and responsibilities in helping the nurses avoid the medication errors. It is the hospital administration’s responsibility to have sufficient number of nurses available in the hospital all the time to avoid the situation of shortage of nurses because when this happens, nurses get overloaded with work which increases their likelihood of making errors. Errors by nurses in such a sensitive work can cost the patients their life, so nurses should never be overloaded with work. If the hospital’s administration hires sufficient nurses, there will be no shortage, and the increased quality of performance will thus keep the other residents safe. What will I do to ensure no other nurse acts in the same manner that I did that created this error? I shall share this mistake of mine with other nurses to help them identify the possible causes of error in medication. I shall share my experience with them both by blogging about this experience online as well as verbally discussing it with the nurses around me. This will help me create awareness among the nurses in my own community as well as the other thousands of nurses who don’t know me and whom I don’t know but who seek for help and advice online. What have I learned as a nurse that will raise my standard of performance? This incident had a lot of lessons for me to learn. The doctor told me the next day that honesty is the most important factor to be displayed in such situations so that the patients can trust us. He told me that he had explained the complete situation to the patient. Surprisingly, the patient was already aware of my mistake, but when she was told that everything was fine according to the course of treatment, she was glad that the hospital’s staff had been truthful and honest in accepting their mistake in front of her and making her aware of the complete situation. The patient told the doctors that I had been very caring towards her last evening, so she did not want the hospital to take any strong action against me. This taught me that being kind and caring towards one’s patients is not only compulsory for it is one of the obligations of the profession of nursing, but it also inculcates positive sentiments in the heart of the patient for the nurse that can make a great deal of difference in such situations as I was in because of my mistake. Had the patient got outraged because of my mistake considering the mistake was very grave and could have cost her her life, she could easily have got me fired from my job. The patient’s positive reaction was very heart-touching for me, and I thought about all the pharmacists, doctors, and nurses who work day and night to do justice to their job and the fact that their effort is recognized by the patients. But certain times we make mistakes, and they generate a lot of knowledge and guidelines for us to follow in the rest of our careers if we are fortunate enough to survive through those mistakes like I did. At other times, the patients have to deal with the results of our mistakes, which is not only painful for them but for us as well. That day onwards, I have never overstayed in the hospital after the completion of a regular 12-hour shift, no matter how active I might feel because I have realized that a human is a human and a Superman is a Superman; and I cannot be both at the same time. Works Cited: Stoppler, Melissa C. “The Most Common Medication Errors.” MedicineNet. 2012. Web. 22 Sep. 2012. . Read More