As a nursing student, I am particularly glad that I was exposed to the concept of medical errors this early on in my training so I can actively define my role in preventing them. The documentary reminded me that I am entering a profession where my actions have real and significant consequences. A sloppy or incomplete performance in medicine is unacceptable and I must find the best way to become as competent as possible. I was immediately encouraged to become a better student in the classroom, to work harder and retain necessary knowledge that I know may be of great consequence one day. Additionally, since my skills have not yet been fully established, I can take certain measures to ensure that bad and perhaps dangerous habits which can lead to errors, do not develop.…
Medical errors in decision making that result in harm or death are tragic and costly to the families affected. There are also negative impacts to the medical providers and the associated institutions (Wu, 2000). Patient safety is a cornerstone of higher-quality health care and nurses serve as a communication link in all settings which is critical in surveillance and coordination to reduce adverse outcomes (Mitchell, 2008).…
In this case study, the hospital operated on the incorrect patient. This is classified as wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-patient errors (WSPEs). These wrong-site, wrong procedure, wrong-patient errors (WSPEs) are termed “never events” by the National Quality Forum and “sentinel events” by the Joint Commission are errors that should never occur and indicate serious underlying safety problems (Woods,…
In the essay “When Doctor’s Make Mistakes” is about the experience of a medical surgeon named Atul Gawande and the medical malpractice that he nearly committed as well as the challenges he faced regularly. This essay describes how medical errors are common to many hospital surgeons and how achieving perfection will always be their main goal. I anticipate on using this source to explain how enhancing communication amongst team members will provide effective patient care and reduce medical…
Mistakes in medicine are hard to think of because at the end of the day, there are real people…
The scenario included in Appendix n.1 shows multiple errors consequently leading to a patient’s deterioration. There was poor communication and record-keeping leading to an incomplete Early Warning Score Chart (EWS) and Fluid Balance Chart, and lack of practical knowledge and skills of the nursing staff in recognizing signs of deterioration of the patient. Furthermore, there is failure to understand the life-saving importance of intravenous antibiotics and the necessity of intravenous access in the case of emergency in acutely ill patients, and failure of the regular review of the patient by the nurses and doctors alike. Identified as the primary issue is the lack of communication and secondary problem an incomplete fluid…
Ten percent of all US deaths are due to medical errors, and those deaths are the third highest cause of deaths in the US (Johns Hopkins, 2016). These are alarming facts, and this leads to the question; what is being done to stem the tide of this issue? Having a system in place to ensure hospitals and clinics are living up to a certain standard is the first step. This is a program called accreditation.…
There are several methods for monitoring adverse events in the healthcare system, characterized by strengths and weaknesses. The correct choice should be appropriate to achieve their goals. Compared to other methods, such as population studies based on review of medical records or the analysis of administrative data, the communication system does not provide data on prevalence and incidence of adverse events because many factors can influence the reporting of errors or adverse events. For example, the level of safety culture and also if the organization is oriented toward identifying and reducing adverse events. For this reason, in a reporting system, as the monitoring of sentinel events, a high percentage of reports of sentinel events, most probably represents the cultural tendency of an organization towards the identification and the reduction of adverse events. The monitoring system of adverse events has as its main purpose, to build throughout the national health system, the culture to learn from errors, which constitutes the foundation of the methodology for clinical risk management and patient safety. And 'in fact one of the most, “noted and frustrating aspects of patient safety, which is the apparent inability to learn from one’s errors. Tragic errors are continuing to be seen in many situations and in all health organizations. The best suited solution to this problem is to study our errors and to share knowledge gathered by the development of reporting systems of adverse events (Lucian Leape; WHO)…
In his TED Talk, Gawande mentions “40 percent of our coronary artery disease patients in our communities receive incomplete or inappropriate care. 60 percent of our asthma, stroke patients receive incomplete or inappropriate care. Two million people come into hospitals and pick up an infection they didn't have because someone failed to follow the basic practices of hygiene” (Gawande 2012). Doctors are seen as all-knowing after their extensive schooling, but now it is impossible for one person to know all that can be known about medicine. Even when doctors do the “right” things, there can still be failures. For example, he discusses a woman with pregnancy sickness that leaves doctors at a loss after prescribing her many different treatments that have worked for others in the past. The hardest thing in my opinion would be to tell a patient that you can’t help them, but that is just what a good doctor must do, in order to not give the patient false hope. Sometimes there is more that cannot be explained by our understanding of medicine, and doctors and patients must recognize that there is no one routine case or foolproof treatment, even for the most simple…
Human error in nursing is usually unavoidable, unpredictable and unintentional. Further, some risks include language barriers, neglecting to follow the policy, in a hurry to complete the task. As a supervisor, I encountered a nurse who gave a patient the wrong medications. The error occurred when the patient answered to the wrong name, and the nurse failed to check the patient’s identification bracelet. Other errors can include carelessness on the behalf of the staff as well as not taking the time to listen to the patient (Raso & Gulinello, 2010). Therefore, the aims of the risk management are to reduce as well as prevent any risk to patients and the health facility. Risk factors may result in financial loss, preventable…
From the past ,Health care workers wear facing a very serious and sensitive problem while treating patient which is Medications Errors. Patient safety is characterized as opportunity from incidental harm because of medical care, or absence of medicinal blunders, or absence of abuse in administrations. Medical error is: "a failure in the therapeutic process that can possibly lead to harm to the patient"(1). It occurs when a health care provider selects improper technique in care or improperly executes an proper strategy of care. Medical errors can happen anywhere in the health care system: In hospitals, clinics, operations rooms, doctors' offices, nursing homes, pharmacies, and patients' homes. Errors can happen…
These incidents can drastically reduce if healthcare professionals would take the time to fully understand and thoroughly communication between one another. Health care professional must realize they are dealing with people’s lives within a hospital setting. In particular, a significant amount of decisions…
Give all relevant information to the physician in order to reach a correct diagnosis. If a patient fails to inform a physician of any medical conditions he or she may have and an incorrect diagnosis is made, the physician is not liable.…
Errors are an innate part of human life. Execution Safe execution of medical orders is plays a significant part role of in patient care. It is also the main component of nursing performance and has a distinguished role in patient safety. Medication errors are a healthcare professional’s worst nightmare and has become one of the biggest issues devoted encountered in today’s healthcare setting. According to the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (2016), “a medication error is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional…
Medication error defined is any preventable event which may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or harm to a patient (Treas & Willkinson, 2014). Medication mistakes are the most common type of healthcare error. Clinical factors which can contribute to medication error can include inadequate nursing education about patient safety and quality, excessive workloads, staffing inadequacies, fatigue, illegible provider handwriting, flawed dispensing systems, and problems with the labeling of drugs. Mistakes which can result in medication error can involve giving the wrong medication or the wrong dose at the wrong time, omitting doses, giving the wrong dose,…