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Medication Errors in Nursing

Aime Achat, BS

University of South Florida


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Medication Errors in Nursing

There are many different medication errors that one can make as a nurse such as: not

checking the dose, giving the medication to the wrong patient or not checking drug levels before

administering drugs. During medication administration, nurses are distracted or interrupted 6.7

times an hour (Yoder and Dietrich, 2015). The different studies refer to using a protocol-based

implementation and other tools to help reduce medication errors due to distractions. These

methods have proven to reduce errors on the specific units that they have been executed while

use on different units have not been researched extensively.

According to Yoder & Dietrich (2015), the implementation of safe medication

administration in this particular study was termed SAFEZONE, which stands for: Secure orange

vest, Access MAR, Focus on the task, Execute the 7 medication rights, be Zealous about

standing in the marked safe zone, Open the patients door and do safety checks, Next scan

medications, and Explain medications to patients.

Another approach to the safe MAE applied four safety principles: empower the team,

ensuring the cognitive workspace is free of distraction, creating a work environment with

effective communication and teamwork, and educating families about the importance of disturb-

free protocols (Connor, 2016). The top 3 medication events reported in this study were wrong

dose, wrong medication/fluid, and medication omitted and when SAFEZONE was implemented

there was 79.2% reduction in medication events.

According to Yoder (2015), there are recommendations to help reduce MAEs such as:

redesigning the workplace environment, clearly mark quiet areas, follow a standard protocol for

administration, educate nurses about importance of following protocol, educate all health care
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personnel about not distracting nurses during the process, and have nurses wear a visible sign

during the administration process.

My biggest fear during medication administration is giving medication to the wrong

patient. A reason for this fear is that there are times when many patients get discharged during

the day and you get a new admission halfway through the day. There will be steps that I will use

to help prevent med errors. A basic step will be to complete the six rights of medication

administration before preparing medications, while retrieving medications, and while giving the

medications. A second step will be to let others know I am giving meds as to not be distracted

during the process.

Over the years, there are more protocols and instruments to help nurses maintain safety

checks and reduce MAEs. A common tool seen in the hospital is the scanner on the portable

computers that nurses use to scan the patients wristband and medication to reduce errors.

According to these journals, many of the studies need further research despite success to have a

solid correlation that certain tools help decrease med errors. Each unit is different and a certain

tool that helps for one may not always help for the other unit.
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References

Connor, J. A. (2016). Implementing a Distraction-Free Practice With the Red Zone

Medication Safety Initiative. Dimensions Of Critical Care Nursing, 35(3), 116-

124. doi:10.1097/DCC.0000000000000179

Yoder, M., Schadewald, D., & Dietrich, K. (2015). The Effect of a Safe Zone on Nurse

Interruptions, Distractions, and Medication Administration Errors. Journal Of Infusion

Nursing, 38(2), 140-151. doi:10.1097/NAN.0000000000000095

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