I am sure this subject has been covered here but it is a problem that continues to put
patients in jeopardy.
Just yesterday, I was working the 3-11 shift at a LTC facility. We do have a policy that nurses are not to be interrupted during the med pass unless there's an emergency. It's a policy that is easily overlooked. I counted eight times during my 8 PM med pass I was interrupted and out of those eight times I had five near-misses (or near-hits) meaning I caught the med error before the patients were harmed. It really bothered me that I almost gave the wrong meds to the wrong patient because my supervisor interrupted me to ask me if a patient is wearing a cervical collar (she could've checked this herself) or a family member is in a panic because her mother didn't eat all her dinner. The crazy thing about all this is that I went along and investigated these things while I was in the middle of pouring. Next meeting, I will bring this subject up. The last facility I worked we reported near-misses as well as med errors for quality assurance. I will also make this suggestion. Any other ideas?? Thanks in advanced.
