NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue Populations Affected by Medication Errors

Considering Options

With knowing what is at stake, a patient’s life, and reading the research, medication administration errors must be remedied. Strategies that have been evidenced to work include a method that requires units to have a designated supervising nurse overseeing and witnessing the administration of high-risk drugs. These high-risk drugs such as chloride potassium, would have a red label, and be separated from all other medications. (Salar et al., 2020). Nurses are human and humans inevitably make mistakes, therefore having a resource such as a supervising nurse can be that second set of eyes before the drug comes in proximity with the patient.

Next, a study by author Escrivá Garcia (2019) mentioned above, researched a specific ICU unit and the ability of its nurses to answer pharmacology-based questions pertaining to critical care. To further prevent any medication-based errors, nurses should be required to demonstrate competency on drugs they would typically administer daily in their practice. New graduate nurses like myself, should be able to participate in education courses to orient them into the practice of safely passing medications per the facility’s protocol. Education in medicine is essential in caring for our patients and protecting our licenses. 

Additionally, there has been evidence that simply reporting errors, has reduced medication errors in the field. (Mutair et al., 2021). Often nurses are afraid of reporting errors and near misses, as they are afraid of the consequences. Failing to document errors can trigger domino effects, and other nurses may continue to make the same mistakes, constantly compromising patient safety. Creating a culture at work where reporting such instances is encouraged, can help alleviate the fear of perhaps losing your job, but rather saving a life. Institutions can take such errors as learning opportunities and debrief on them using the root cause analysis style to further prevent any potential harm.  

Solution

Being a heavy believer in education, and based on the research presented above, creating a learning environment within the healthcare system can directly and positively impact patient outcomes. This solution can also go hand in hand with creating a culture where reporting errors is encouraged. Instead of reprimanding nurses, educating them on the drugs and debriefing the situation as a team allows for a healthy work environment. 

Implementation and Ethical Implications

Healthcare institutions are often placing changes into the workplace and with that comes backlash from workers who are not willing to change their ways. Sometimes this may cause them to shy away from implementing the changes. However, there should never be any questions or debates when it comes to patient safety. Having support from managers, coworkers, and higher-ups is extremely important in being successful with change. 

The principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence are embedded around this topic of medication errors as our one of the core values remains to not cause any harm to a patient however if medication is not administered properly, this principle would be compromised. It would greatly benefit institutions, nurses, and especially patients if they would take this evidence-based practice into reforming the ways medications are administered. Next, autonomy and veracity, which protect our patient’s self-determination, parallel the virtue of being honest. To respect our patients, the standard should be to tell our patients the truth when medication errors occur. As nurses are being educated on pharmacology knowledge as presented in the solution above, they should also be reminded of such principles to utilize in their practice.  Most importantly, abiding by the rights of medication administration will ensure the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and veracity are being practiced. 

NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Conclusion

Medication administration is part of the healing process in taking care of a patient. To help a patient, heal safely, proper techniques should be utilized to prevent harm. Errors can occur for various reasons such as not knowing what they do, or unsafe working conditions causing fatigue and burnout. Have designated, assigned supervising nurses on units to witness high-risk medication passes, can be a resource nurses can use to ensure safety. Furthermore, educating nurses and assessing their competencies regarding drug knowledge has previously been found beneficial in decreasing error rates. Finally, creating a culture at work where nurses feel comfortable to report medication errors, can