https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkSDW44hxTk (Links to an external site.)
Answer questions regarding video
1. Explain what you see as issues to her medication preparation
2. What should the nurse manager do to prevent/ assist the RN in a situation like this
3. Did the nurse handle this situation properly? If so, how. If not, how not
4. What should absolutely be done now that the error has occurred?
5. As the nurse manager on this unit, what should you do in order to prevent this type of medical/ medication error from occurring again? Be certain to reference resources. Be creative and use EBP to address how medication errors can be prevented.
resources
https://www.ahrq.gov/questions/resources/20-tips.html
https://ceufast.com/course/medical-errors
Medication Error
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
Medication Error
The young nurse seems friendly and cool with her patient. She commits to her patient to ensure he is okay. However, the medication error occurred because the nurse did not follow the correct procedure when administering Coumadin without checking the patient’s INR (International Normalized Ratio) (AHA, 2016). INR is a measure of how long it takes for the patient’s blood to clot. Patients with elevated INR should not take Coumadin. The patient was bleeding because he took Coumadin while his INR was elevated.
In situations like this, the nurse manager should be empathetic with the nurse. Making medication errors can be scary and may lead to the RN panicking, she may even become mentally disturbed. The nurse manager should encourage the RN to relax and talk to her later about the situation (Latimer et al., 2017). The nurse handled the situation well because she did not show shock or disappointment in front of the patient. Also, the nurse seeks help from a physician to correct the error and save the patient. The nurse also kept encouraging the patient.
Now that the error has occurred, it is important to act rapidly to correct the error to save the patient from further risk. The nurse did well calling the physician to come over and assist with the situation. The RN should be informed of the mistake she did so that she might not repeat a similar error (Latimer et al., 2017). As the nurse manager of this Unit, I would call the nurse one on one and inform her about mistakes she did. It is important to inform her to strictly follow the procedure. Staff education regarding safety and risk management may be carried out to prevent such situations in the future.
Reference
American Heart Association (AHA). (2016). A Patient’s Guide to Taking Warfarin. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia/prevention–treatment-of-arrhythmia/a-patients-guide-to-taking-warfarin
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