How many of you have experienced medication errors?

It is unavoidable. But most of us er um present company included have had lapses in judgment that caused them to happen.

as long as were human, we will make errors. The way to minimize errors, is to remember to take your time. remember the 5 rights of medication administration. I carry a black marker with me, so if i am called away, i write the patient's name on the medication cup. Alot of times nurses will make mistakes, not when their busy, but when it is slow. Your mind gets preoccupied with other things.

I think the reason why errors happen, in addition to sheer volume of meds, is distraction. Once I begin preparing a patient's medicine, I do not allow myself to be interrupted unless I must be. If a bed exit alarm goes off, I am going to answer it but probably not a regular call bell.

Thank you for everyone.

I think how many you make depends a lot on your patient load and the setting. If you are constantly pressured for time and encounter constant interruptions, such as running after alarms and call bells, you'll either end up overlooking something or somehow end up outside the 1hourbefore/1hourafter time limit. Either way it's a med error.

I made one as a student and was devastated about it, even though (thankfully) there was no harm to the patient. But it was one that could have, should have been avoided. I gave an IV diuretic subq instead. Very stupid. I realized I had drawn up the diuretic out of the bottle with a needle similar to a subq needle I used to administer heparin to this pt. Somehow thought I was therefore giving the diuretic subq. As I was administering it subq in the pt's belly, I had that feeling of dread wash over me...

Something important to note: It was a 12-hr shift on a difficult step-down floor, where students didn't exactly thrive. I had not taken a break that day and had skipped lunch. These are by no means excuses, but it certainly explains why the med error happened and I will NEVER make that mistake again! From now on, I will make sure I eat, get enough hydration, and triple check that MAR.

But I'm sure I'll make other mistakes in my career!