Nursing assignment

Answer

Reflection Response

Question 1: Description

After completing the NPS MedicineWise Safety training course, I have learned that medication error is among the leading causes of death in the United States. I learned this after comparing the statistics of the major causes of death among patients. Despite chronic ailments being considered as the leading cause of demise among patients, researchers have established that medical errors play a significant part (Wheeler AJ, Scahill 2018).

Question 2: Reflection

Learning about the types and causes of medical errors has helped to understand the effects of medical errors on their subjects. This will in turn help me develop strategies for mitigating medical errors. After learning about medication errors, my views regarding medical administration have changed since I used to believe that this was a negligible issue, but now I understand that it is a crucial development.

Question: Applying Reflection to Practice

Despite being associated with causing server emotional financial, and psychological stress to medical practitioners as well as the institution, these preventable mistakes can lead to severe physical injury and even death to patients. For example, a patient brought to the hospital might be administered the wrong medication due to a mix-up in the packaging process or confusion of the specific patient meant to receive the medication (La Caze 2018). After receiving medication, the patient later developed a wide range of new conditions that are either permanent or temporary such as skin disfigurement, rashes, or itching. Although uncommon, these errors could also result in intense injury or death. If medical institutions could be having safeguarding procedures assimilated at different levels, identification of the error could be rather quick and prior corrections would be implemented. As a result, patient safety would be assured and trust between patients and the institution would be maintained.

The relevance of learning about medical errors is that it equips medical practitioners with the necessary skills of promoting patient safety. For example, future nurses will be able to identify possible situations when a practitioner is bound to make a mistake during treatment (Wheeler AJ, Scahill 2018). Respectively, nurses will be able to know-how and to whom this matter could be reported so that control measures are applied. Besides, this learning outcome will enable new nurses to be responsible for their actions. New nurses will understand that patient safety is their main priority since it determines the success or failure of an individual or the entire system.

Question 4: Reflecting on Practice

After completing this course and being considered as a certified healthcare professional, I will be liable for promoting patient safety by monitoring a patient’s condition, administering medication, and communicating self-care as well as discharge information. To tackle medical errors effectively, I will always ensure that I have monitored and kept accurate records related to the vulnerable population. Even though medical error can affect a wide mirage of patients, there are certain patients as well as populations who are at greater risks. When it resonates with this group of individuals, simple and effective steps such as remaining vigilant, executing safeguards, and enhancing communication may suffice to reduce medical errors (Wheeler AJ, Scahill 2018). Another resolution would be promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. This will involve enhancing and streamlining all modes of communication within the patient care chain. In retrospect, will ensure that all communications regarding the health of a patient are limited to face-to-face interactions. This will reduce the chances of making mistakes such as confusing the type of patient meant to receive specific medication.

Ultimately, I will be at the forefront of promoting high reliable culture within the institutions that I will be working in. To effectively manage medical errors in the future, I will ensure that those that occurred in the past are accurately recorded and reported to respective departments. In line with the generated reports, I will ensure that they are simplified to make it easy for medical practitioners to report and attend to errors as soon as they occur. Thirdly, I would engage with third-party organizations to trace and analyze medical errors.