Nursing Perception of Medication Errors

[pbuggli]

I am a Nurse Hospital Education Coordinator of an LTACH. I have experience as a CIC Nurse, a Home-Health Nurse, An Infusion Center Nurse, and EMS Paramedic. Yes, I am kind of old.

I am interested in doing a small study on the impact that Medication errors have on the Nurses who make the errors. If you have been a nurse long enough you have made an error-almost guaranteed!

I want to know how it made you feel.

Did you report it? If so, why? If not, why not?

What was the impact of the error on the patient?

Have you ever made the same mistake twice?

Do you consider breaking a rule (i.e. leaving meds at the bedside) an error?

Should there be any disciplinary action for medication errors? If so what should happen?

Are you more likely to report someone's else's error than your own?

Please feel free to answer all or part of the above questions. Any input is greatly appreciated.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I want to know how it made you feel. I felt like I let my patient down.

Did you report it? If so, why? If not, why not? I did not because it was caught on the next shift.

What was the impact of the error on the patient? None.

Have you ever made the same mistake twice? I haven't made that mistake again.

Do you consider breaking a rule an error? I would say yes. If you leave it at the bedside how do you KNOW they took it?

Should there be any disciplinary action for medication errors? If so what should happen? Unless the Nurse is a habitual offender no there shouldn't be any punishment. More people would be honest about errors if they weren't terriefied about losing their job. If a Nurse is a habitual offender they should go through medication admin re-education. If that doesn't work then let them go.

Are you more likely to report someone's else's error than your own? No. I hold myself responsible for my mistakes.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

What are you doing the study for?

[pbuggli]

I work as an educator for a hospital. I really want to understand all sides of this issue and if I get enough data I will present it via a webinar. Everything will be anonymous.

[anon456, BSN, RN]

I want to know how it made you feel.

Did you report it? If so, why? If not, why not?

Absolutely. We have an environment of trust so that if an error is made, the management is more interested in knowing what steps led to the error and how to prevent it next time vs. punishing someone for the error. Because of an error I made, and I found out later that others had also made this same error, some changes were made to the way things worked and prevented further errors.

What was the impact of the error on the patient?

It reached the patient but did not harm them.

Have you ever made the same mistake twice?

No

Do you consider breaking a rule (i.e. leaving meds at the bedside) an error?

Not an error, but a breach in safety.

Should there be any disciplinary action for medication errors? If so what should happen?

Analysis of the error, remediation, re-education of the nurse. If it was done in a grossly negligent or reckless manner and the nurse had a history of errors, then yes disciplinary action should be taken.

Are you more likely to report someone's else's error than your own?

No. I report my own errors. Luckily not too many have been made. If I witness another nurse's error I will be supportive and encourage her to report it to the MD and to the manager so the patient can be taken care of and the system can be changed to prevent that error from happening again. I have never had to report an error that the nurse did not self-report on already. I think that is in part because of the environment I work in.

[pbuggli]

Thank you. I think you are awesome for answering!

[LLinsen928]

I want to know how it made you feel. I personally felt awful because I could have potentially harmed my patient.

Did you report it? Yes If so, why? Because it was the right thing to do. I would hope that any nurse caring for me would do the same. If not, why not?

What was the impact of the error on the patient? There was no negative impact.

Have you ever made the same mistake twice? No

Do you consider breaking a rule (i.e. leaving meds at the bedside) an error? No

Should there be any disciplinary action for medication errors? Yes If so what should happen? If it is first time offense then I would do education with that nurse. If it becomes a habitual problem then I feel corrective action needs to be taken, up to and including termination. If a nurse is not going to take a patient's safety seriously then do you really want that nurse working in your facility?

Are you more likely to report someone's else's error than your own? I would but not because I want that nurse to get in trouble. I look at it as a safety isssue for the patient as well as a learning experience for the nurse...maybe they aren't aware they did something wrong.

[ktwlpn, LPN]

I want to know how it made you feel. -Horrified,beat myself up over it for days.

Did you report it? Immediately If so, why? We needed to take the appropriate action to save the resident If not, why not?

What was the impact of the error on the patient? Hospitalization-survived.

Have you ever made the same mistake twice? Every med error is a failure to follow the Rights of Med admin-technically they ARE all the same IMHO.

Do you consider breaking a rule (i.e. leaving meds at the bedside) an error? YES

Should there be any disciplinary action for medication errors? Progressive education should result in discipline. Each facility should have a firm policy they apply to ALL STAFF EVERY TIME. If so what should happen? Per the policy of the facility -we can be terminated if our mistakes are part of a pattern. A nurse who commits the same errors over and over needs to be reported to the BON as well. Termination allows them to move on to another facility and care for another group of vulnerable elderly.

Are you more likely to report someone's else's error than your own? No.

[Mulan]

I want to know how it made you feel. I personally felt awful because I could have potentially harmed my patient.

Did you report it? Yes If so, why? Because it was the right thing to do. I would hope that any nurse caring for me would do the same. If not, why not?

What was the impact of the error on the patient? There was no negative impact.

Have you ever made the same mistake twice? No

Do you consider breaking a rule (i.e. leaving meds at the bedside) an error? No

Should there be any disciplinary action for medication errors? Yes If so what should happen? If it is first time offense then I would do education with that nurse. If it becomes a habitual problem then I feel corrective action needs to be taken, up to and including termination. If a nurse is not going to take a patient's safety seriously then do you really want that nurse working in your facility?

Are you more likely to report someone's else's error than your own? I would but not because I want that nurse to get in trouble. I look at it as a safety isssue for the patient as well as a learning experience for the nurse...maybe they aren't aware they did something wrong.

Love your avatar!