How many is too many? Medication errors

[fangirl]

I work with a nurse, we'll call them Leslie, (not their name btw). This person has had a ton of medication errors, mostly not giving narcotics. We still use the paper sheets for narcotics, not a computer pixys system. The MAR will be signed, but not the narcotic sheet and therefore, if the count is correct, the med wasn't given. I know of at least 19 medication errors in a few months. Myself and others have gone up the chain of command to the director of nursing and administrator. Leslie has had several write ups by their own admission. How many is too many? I'm in no way implying that I am perfect. I have had a medication error or two in my career. Some staff dread seeing Leslie on the hallway, because we can almost bet there will be mistakes. I could totally understand one every now and then as we are all human, but 19? I'm not understanding how Leslie still has a job and a nursing license.

[Isanahlei]

? When would a nurse ever have to contact a family?

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

? When would a nurse ever have to contact a family?

In LTC at least, where this is occurring, nurses contact family members all the time. I wonder where nurses don't contact family members? To me that seems strange. Goes to show how different practice can be depending on the setting.

[fangirl]

Update: Leslie is no at the facility.

[ticurr9]

Exactly

[DON LTC]

As a DON, my question is this: If you take a stance if "it's none of your business" then how are you advocating for your patients? While it's not an overdose of medication, is the patient suffering with unneccesary pain because medication was not administered and what other medications are being missed. We all make mistakes from time to time and this is an educational opportunity but frequent errors are putting patients in harms way. You may have no way of knowing what steps management has taken but you do know at this point that the patients are at risk of harm. In my humble opinion, I would expect that my nurses would be writing me a formal complaint of concern and sending up the chain of command if I failed to protect the patients far before reaching 19 errors in only a few months. As a nurse, it is all of our responsibility to what is necessary to protect and advocate for our patients no matter who we might offend.

[twinkletoes53]

Extra doses of psych meds have been found on occasion.

Does this mean that patients are not being given the narcotics or psych. meds. that are due?