Nurse Trauma

Professionals such as physicians who are fatigued can have decreased alertness which can lead to several safety-related consequences, including loss of awareness in critical situations (Lerman et al, 2012). A resident doctor was fatigued and strained from a set of night shifts. They were attending to critically ill patients and because they were fatigued their attention and alertness was not at 100%. Therefore they were not consciously aware of the exact task they were completing which resulted in a medication error and patient harm. In this situation the nurse present should make sure they are providing the best care for the best possible outcome for the patient.
Critically ill patients are a high stakes population. They can decline quickly
This involves being aware of what is taking place around them and communicating and working efficiently with the health care team. The nurse was preparing for re-intubation as asked. However, in a team approach the nurse’s role would have completed this task yet they would have attempted to delegate or act as at the health care team leader in the current emergent situation. According to a study done by Clements, Curtis, Horvat & Shaban (2015) appointing nurses to lead trauma resuscitations improves leadership, communication, increases the clarity of the situation and the assertiveness of the nurse contributes to the effective functioning of the trauma team which leads to minimal errors (p.6). Although this case study was not a resuscitation, the same formatting could have been used as it was a chaotic emergency situation. A nurse stepping into the leader role could increase proper communication and time efficient team work between the team and could also increase awareness of the actions going on at the bedside. Combined, these improvements would lead to possible prevention of a medication error as double checking of the medication would be encouraged before administration.
Everyone in this scenario was fatigued from their night shift yet they are professionals and 100% of their attention needed to be on the patient, especially a critically ill patient. A nurse taking on the role of the team leader for an emergency event with fatigued co-workers could prevent multiple mistakes and improve the overall outcome. In this situation to be a leader is part of a nurse’s role as they have the accountability to provide the best care possible for their