Med errors: Day vs Night

[ALG0618]

Hi, So I have read a few threads on here about different types of medication errors that people have made. What I continue to wonder is do more med errors happen during the day, (when we have doctors, families, and patients coming and going from the unit)? Or at night, (when things can be slower, or people can be very tired)? I would love to hear about expierences you have had, or even sitiuations that you have witnessed, as well as personal opinions! Thanks

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I don't think it's as much the time of the day that affects med errors, as it is the people themselves who are involved with transcription of med orders and/or administration of meds. You can have nurses that can perform almost flawlessly no matter what shift they're on because they know their stuff and are careful to check and check again. Then there's other nurses that can make med errors left and right regardless of whether it's day or night.

[JazzyRN]

I think it would be extremely difficult to get an accurate answer to your question. Med errors occur both day and night and are grossly underreported. I think more important than trying to figure out what shift is reporting the most, its more useful to understand the underlying elements that can set people up to make mistakes. Things such as poor staffing, fatigue, distraction, systems errors need to be examined and corrected. I think medication errors are great learning experiences and make better nurses out of people.