Applying Library Research Skills
Healthcare professionals, such as nurses and doctors, are just like everybody else in the world at risk of making mistakes. The difference in a healthcare professional from others is a mistake we make can take someone’s life. Simple errors include forgetting to break a pill in half or more serious errors such as giving the wrong drug to the wrong patient. The primary priority of healthcare providers should be to ensure the safety of their patients. Medication errors are one of the most common problems in healthcare facilities such as hospitals and long-term care facilities.
One of the most significant things studied in nursing school is the seven drug administration rights. These rights include the required documentation, the appropriate procedure, the correct purpose, the correct medication, the correct time, the correct patient, and the correct dose. Each of these administrative rights helps to keep a patient from suffering extreme harm, such as death. When caring for my patients, it is my responsibility as a qualified nurse to safeguard these rights. It is my responsibility to get the correct order for the drug before providing it. I also need to know how each drug works. The nursing facility software, along with my responsibility to exercise the seven administrative rights, can help minimize prescription errors, but it should not be relied on.
Identifying Academic Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
I used the Capella University Library for looking up peer-reviewed journals on my topic. Summon, a search engine in the library database, enhanced my search. Then I used terms like "medication errors" and "medication safety" to aid my search. I modified my search after entering my keywords to include "peer-reviewed" and journals published within the last five years. Articles published within the last five years are more reputable and up to date. Finally, I browse articles to discover ones that are pertinent to my issue and offer a solution to the problem.
Assessing Credibility and Relevance of Information Sources
Important precautions were taken to ensure that my article was backed up by reliable sources. I refined my searches before selecting my articles and made sure only peer reviewed articles came up. I chose articles from the last five years to verify that the material was current. I double-checked the topics and found a solution to my dilemma. Many articles about "medication errors," "medication administration," and "patient safety" were discovered.
Annotated Bibliography
Latimer, S., Hewitt, J., Stanbrough, R., & McAndrew, R. (2017). Reducing medication errors: Teaching strategies that increase nursing students' awareness of medication errors and their prevention. Nurse Education Today, 52, 7–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.02.004
This post began with raising awareness of pharmaceutical errors around the world, which is causing a problem with patient safety and quality of care. Nurses give medication consistently but can reduce medication errors. Education about the significance of pharmaceutical errors and how to avoid them can assist transform clinical practice. Emphasizing the importance of patient safety early in nursing school, according to the authors, can help students better understand and appreciate it. Educating nursing students on drug error avoidance and early exposure will only enhance their clinical practice in the future. The authors show how Griffith University BN instructors used a variety of teaching strategies to equip first-year students with the knowledge and skills they needed to avoid medication errors and scenarios. Only the seven medicine administration rights were enhanced by the education tactics. A pharmaceutical safety education was required of the pupils. The seminar included pharmacology basics, how to recognize prescription errors, and how to prevent them. The course also included a competency in medication calculating. Students were also shown short movies depicting various pharmaceutical mistake scenarios. This post relates to my theme of pharmaceutical mishaps because it raises awareness of the issue and provides a remedy. Nurses should be educated early in their careers, while they are still in nursing school, to ensure safe clinical practice.
Dirik, H. F., Samur, M., Seren Intepeler, S., & Hewison, A. (2018). Nurses’ identification and reporting of medication errors. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(5-6), 931–938.
The biggest causes of preventable injury are pharmaceutical errors and dangerous prescription practices, according to this study. Drug mistakes are expected to cost $42 billion globally. Nurses were given hypothetical case studies in a variety of scenarios in order to assess what they considered to be a prescription error. A total of 244 nurses were recruited to participate in the study, which included 18 case studies. Case studies covered circumstances such as medicine names that were too similar, incorrect dosages, and food-drug interactions. Expert nurses from varied backgrounds analyzed the responses. According to the authors, most nurses were able to detect a medication error. The issue wasn't catching a drug error; it was nurses' fear of being punished if they reported it. Nurses were also concerned about being judged by coworkers if they admitted to making a medication error. The scientists also discovered that if a prescription error caused more harm than good, nurses were more likely to report it. Nurses were also found to disclose prescription errors to physicians as soon as possible to avoid harm to the patient. Instead of reporting to a medication reporting system, a team approach was adopted to avoid management participation. Patient safety is threatened when medication reporting systems are circumvented. This article was pertinent to my subject because it explains why the majority of pharmaceutical errors go unreported. The authors proposed a no-fault reporting method to make it easier for nurses to report errors.
Gates, P. J., Baysari, M. T., Gazarian, M., Raban, M. Z., Meyerson, S., & Westbrook, J. I. (2019). Prevalence of medication errors among pediatric in patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Drug Safety, 42(11), 1329–1342.
According to this article, there is a substantial chance of medication mistakes, in pediatric hospital settings. No differences in medication errors were shown between paper and electronic charts, according to the authors. Five databases were searched for studies between 2000 and 2018. Each study's medication mistakes were extracted and analyzed. There were 71 studies discovered, including 19 pediatric wards that used electronic charting. The authors discovered that prescribing errors accounted for the majority of drug mishaps. Administration mistakes were found in only a few of the studies. Furthermore, using electronic charts instead of paper led to more minor prescription errors. Error detection was found in some electronic charting, but no other issues. Prescription mistakes were identified as the most common problem. This article was chosen because it highlights the issue of prescribing inaccuracy. Having a double-check system in place before nurses administer can help to improve prescription errors. The article also mentions, using an electronic charting system has been proven to reduce errors.
Sarfati, L., Ranchon, F., Vantard, N., Schwiertz, V., Larbre, V., Parat, S., Faudel, A., & Rioufol,
C. (2018). Human-simulation-based learning to prevent medication error: A systematic
review. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 25(1), 11–20.
In this article, medication errors were recognized as a problem, with at least 1.5 million of them being preventable. This article focuses on simulation-based learning strategies that can aid in the prevention of drug mistakes. The simulations were used to improve the skills and knowledge of healthcare staff without providing direct patient care. After performing a systemic examination, the IOM Committee recommended trainings and simulations to learn more about pharmaceutical errors. In the simulations, task trainers and mannequins were employed to mimic real-life situations, but they were not essential. Instead of using severe monitoring methods, these simulations were a more ethical and enjoyable approach to learn. Simulations are not a replacement of monitoring systems; rather, they are intended to give extra learning opportunities. In comparison to other methodologies, simulations have a dearth of randomized controlled research. This article offered a different perspective on my subject. Simulations are a useful hands-on learning tool for nurses, as we all have different learning styles. As more randomized controlled studies are conducted, the number of drug errors will rise or fall.
Learnings from the Research
I learned a lot about drug errors and how to avoid them by reading all of the peer-reviewed studies. For example, Gates et al. discovered that the majority of pediatric drug errors were caused by prescribing errors (2019). Medication errors are a major problem all across the world, and it's critical for nurses to understand why they happen. I also learned how to look through the Capella database system for up-to-date publications for my future studies. Making an annotated bibliography helped me comprehend the major points of articles and broadened my understanding of the subject.
References
Dirik, H. F., Samur, M., Seren Intepeler, S., & Hewison, A. (2018). Nurses’ identification and reporting of medication errors. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(5-6), 931–938.
Gates, P. J., Baysari, M. T., Gazarian, M., Raban, M. Z., Meyerson, S., & Westbrook, J. I. (2019). Prevalence of medication errors among paediatric inpatients: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Drug Safety, 42(11), 1329–1342.
Latimer, S., Hewitt, J., Stanbrough, R., & McAndrew, R. (2017). Reducing medication errors: Teaching strategies that increase nursing students' awareness of medication errors and their prevention. Nurse Education Today, 52, 7–9.
Sarfati, L., Ranchon, F., Vantard, N., Schwiertz, V., Larbre, V., Parat, S., Faudel, A., & Rioufol, C. (2018). Human-simulation-based learning to prevent medication error: A systematic review. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 25(1), 11–20.
