Med Errors

No, especially if it wasn't a critical med. I always ask the nurse first. Sometimes they just forgot to sign the MAR. None of us are perfect, I would give the nurse the benefit of the doubt.

Roxann

Very rarely. It's too much trouble and causes bad feelings among co-workers. Would normally call the nurse at home after researching on a missed dose.

No, especially if it wasn't a critical med. I always ask the nurse first. Sometimes they just forgot to sign the MAR. None of us are perfect, I would give the nurse the benefit of the doubt.

Roxann

Ditto

Ditto

i would get writers cramp and so would the nurses following me......somewhat facetious, but not entirely

No, especially if it wasn't a critical med. I always ask the nurse first. Sometimes they just forgot to sign the MAR. None of us are perfect, I would give the nurse the benefit of the doubt.

Roxann

I totally agree.

I would rather discuss it with the nurse first. There are so many distractions that can occur within the minute preventing instant charting that it is not worth ruining my relationships with these people to report it if it can be solved. I would also want the same to be done for me, so, I 'do unto others'.

No, no, no.

If it's a hole in the MAR I normally can speak to the nurse who should have signed it off and say By the by, I noticed you didn't sign off so and so's coumadin. Then the balls in their court.

Very rarely. It's too much trouble and causes bad feelings among co-workers. Would normally call the nurse at home after researching on a missed dose.

Me too. Like FS said, it causes bad feelings amongst us, and if there were a way that I could call them or do a little checking and find the answer, I would rather go thatt route. As nurses our job is difficult just keeping our patients safe and on the right track, and docs happy, and supervisors and family ...

If it were something that would have to be documented, I'll do it - but a lot of times your shift is just so busy and if you have a patient or two crashing on you, something just goes without getting documented.

Kind of the "do unto others", if I were the nurse, I would appreciate the chance to say that I gave it.

Anne, RNC

Our computer med-pass system has a component called an omissions report. At the end of our shifts, we're supposed to check our omissions report, therefore if you missed a med, the ball is in your court as far as how to deal with it. On my shift, the usual med-pass times are 1600, 1800, 2000, 2200, but things can be easily missed if people don't check all med pass hours on your shift.

I once reported a fellow nurses med error..a patient reported to me (actually, the pt was a retired RN) that she had rec'd a pill on day shift that didn't look like something she usually took. She had rec'd another pt's BP med, thankfully with no ill effects, BP was stable, no new orders from her MD. I felt awful having to fill out the report, but it would have been on me if I never did anything. The nurse who made the error saw me the next day and actually thanked me for catching it. The patient herself said she felt so stupid because she knew her meds and knew she shouldn't have taken it.