Medication Errors

Medication Errors
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Overview
Medication errors (MEs) are a significant and widespread problem in the health care system that can cause severe harm, disability, and even death if taken incorrectly. These errors are the leading causes of avoidable patient harm worldwide in the health care system. Medication administration errors (MAEs) are the most common types of MEs, and they can have dangerous consequences for patients, health professionals, and health institutions (Wondmieneh et al., 2020).
As a community nurse, we are often responsible for administering medications since they represent the last safety check in the medication administration process. MEs can occur at any phase of the medication use process, including prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, and administering. However, most MEs occur during the administration phase. As a health worker, I have had firsthand experience with medication errors and seen their detrimental effects on patients. One of the MEs I have encountered was due to a miscommunication involving a colleague . My colleague scheduled a patient of jaundice for an intrusive surgery. The resident, four hours later, corrected the procedure and recommended a dosage for medication which later on worked out well. This prevented the patient from undergoing an unnecessary surgery, something that had troubled the patient’s mind. I am interested in MEs due to their significant impact on patient safety and the general quality of healthcare. MEs can result in severe harm, disability, and even death, making it a critical issue that needs addressing. MEs are a major cause of avoidable patient harm in the healthcare system. Identifying and intervening in the contributing factors of these errors is crucial to improve patient safety.
Assessing credibility of sources
The articles selected for this paper were chosen based on their relevance to medication errors and their focus on the causes, consequences, and prevention of these errors. I ensured the credibility of the sources by evaluating the authors’ qualifications, the research methods used, the validity of the results, and the journal’s reputation in which the articles were published. I also ensured that the articles were published in peer-reviewed journals and were current on information on the topic.
Identification of sources
During research, I utilized a variety of sources to ensure that I gathered reliable and relevant information. I first identified the keywords that would guide my search, including “medication errors,” “healthcare,” “patient care,” and “nursing.” I then searched for articles on the PubMed and ProQuest databases using these keywords as these databases provide access to a wide range of scholarly articles on the topic of MEs, including research studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.
Annotated Bibliography
Alrabadi, N., Shawagfeh, S., Haddad, R., Mukattash, T., Abuhammad, S., Al-rabadi, D., Abu Farha, R., AlRabadi, S., & Al-Faouri, I. (2021). Medication errors: a focus on nursing practice. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 12(1), 78–86. https://do...