MEDICATION ERRORS

Medication Errors
Renee Dabydeen
NUR3215L.001S15
Ms. Rideout

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Within the year of 2011 the error rate while giving medication was at 42%, with
22% of the error focusing on timing errors (Zimmerman, Love, Reed, Carder 2105). Of
the 42%, 7% were errors with moderate or high potential for harm (Zimmerman, Love,
Reed, Carder 2105). These statistics demonstrate how easy it can be to make common
errors in the hospital setting. Some common errors include giving medications to the
wrong person, giving the wrong dose of the medication, and not checking labs or vitals.
As a result of the array of medicine errors that can occur it is important as health care
providers to address these common errors and find interventions to limit errors and
decrease the chances of harming the patient.
One of the many common errors that can occur includes giving medications to the
wrong patient. There are many ways for this situation to occur including the wrong
armband being placed on the patient. A crucial intervention for giving a patient the right
medication is to make sure that the patient verbalizes the correct name and date of birth
and to check the medical number from the MAR with the medical number on the
patients armband. This step as a health care provider is crucial because if the wrong
medication was administered to a patient, this not only affects one patient but two
patients. One patient may suffer from adverse affects such as an allergic reaction,
angioedema, and a multitude of other side effects. While another patient may suffer from
not receiving the medications that they were suppose to receive. (Donnelly 2012). As a
result, giving the wrong medication puts two patients in danger and can be easily avoided
by checking the identity of the patient before administration of the drugs.
Furthermore, another common error that may occur is giving the wrong dose to a
patient. As a nurse you must be aware of the dosage given to the patient. This can be

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simple mathematical mistake that anyone can make. The wrong dosage of medication
can remove the medication out of the therapeutic range causing more harm then benefits
for the patient (Zimmerman, Love, Reed, Carder 2105). One way to prevent this
common error from occurring is by always double checking your math with dosage and
make sure to properly read the MAR. In addition there are come medications such as
insulin that cannot be giving without the consent of another nurse. Although this may
seem to be a hassle it is a way to protect your patient and check for a mistake that you
may have missed, which can be seen as an advantage rather than a hassle.
Moreover, as a nurse it is crucial to check certain vitals and labs in order to
determine if a medication should be given. For example, if a patient is given a potassium
wasting diuretic and their labs show that their potassium is lower then 3.5 it is the job of
the nurse to understand why to hold the medication and make proper judgment to
administer the medication. An intervention for this common error is to always use
critical skills to evaluate each medication that is given and make sure to use resources
such as nursing central to come to a conclusion about giving or holding a medication.
When navigating through Nursing Central make sure to visit contraindications and
assessment in order to find any lab values or vitals that should be check before, during
or after administration of medication.
After examining an array of medicine errors I can personally say that I am most
worried about improper reading of vitals and labs and whether I should hold or give a
medication. I will try to avoid this medication error by being alert to high risk
medications and learning more about medication so that red flags will occur whenever I
need to hold a medication. Also I will use Nursing Central whenever I feel that there is

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a medication that I do not know well enough to administer. Also if I have any question or
feel worried about giving a medication I will make sure to call the provider in order to
make sure that my decision-making is the best decision to be made for my patient.
In addition to my fear of reading vitals and lab inappropriately, I fear of giving a
wrong dose of medication. I feel that while working in the hospital it is easy to get
distracted and not realize that the dose you are giving is off due to improver conversions.
I will try to avoid this error by always double-checking my math and checking my MAR
before administration. Also if I am every verifying and witnessing a specific medication I
will make sure to double check my fellow nurses work to make sure that I am keeping
their patient safe as well.
In conclusion, common medicine errors should not be taken lightly. As a nurse, it
is important to stay alert and always follow through with the six rights of administering
medication, which includes the right patient, medication, dose, route, time, and
documentation. However, if an error were to occur it is important to inform a charge
nurse immediately in order to protect the patient from as much harm as possible. The
patient should always come first and properly taken care of if an issue occurs.

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References
Zimmerman, Sherly; Love, Karen; Reed, David; Carder Paula (2015). Medication
Administration Errors in Assisted Living: Scope, Characteristics, and the
Importance of Staff Training. Retrieved from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.15325415.2011.03430.x/full
Donnelly, Seamas (May 2012) Medication errors: what they are, how they
happen, and how to avoid them. Retrieved From
http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2009/05/20/qjmed.hcp052.short