Errors of Treating Patients in Medical Institutions Essay

Literature Review Paper

Medication error remains one of the leading concerns affecting patients in different healthcare facilities (Anderson & Townsend, 2015). This problem can threaten the life of a client in a medical environment. A study by Hayes, Jackson, Davidson, and Power (2015) indicated that medication errors can make it impossible for patients to lead quality lives. Medication errors can affect individuals who are receiving treatment or have just undergone a medical surgery. A report presented by Anderson and Townsend (2015) indicated that “medication errors lead to more than 7,000 deaths annually in the United States” (p. 18). The authors also indicate that each “error costs an estimated $2,000 to $8,750” (p. 18).Errors of Treating Patients in Medical Institutions Essay

The purpose of this paper is to summarize and search the evidence for medication errors in health practice. The essay goes further to identify specific sources and synthesize the gathered evidence. The identified sources also offer powerful ideas that can be used to deal with the problem of medication errors. The discussion is guided by this PICOT question: Can the use of training strategies (I) be more effective than other methods (C) towards helping nurses and medical practitioners deal with medication errors (O) in patients (P) within their time of stay in hospitals (T)?Errors of Treating Patients in Medical Institutions Essay

Methodology for Finding Research Sources

A powerful approach was used to get the right sources for the study. To begin with, several keywords such as medication error, multidisciplinary teams, nursing care, dose calculation, and lifelong learning were used to search for the best sources (Anderson & Townsend, 2015). Several websites such as JUSTOR, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and ProQuest were identified to get quality articles for the study. The selected articles were obtained from some of the leading nursing journals such as the International Journal of Nursing. The articles identified for the study were published within the past five years. This approach was considered in order to come up with quality information.Errors of Treating Patients in Medical Institutions Essay

Background Information

In the recent past, experts have been focusing on powerful initiatives that have the potential to reduce medication errors and improve the outcomes of the targeted patients. When such errors are minimized, it becomes easier for more clients to achieve their health goals. Karthikeyan, Balasubramanian, Khaleel, Sahl, and Rashifa (2015) argue that medication error has remained a critical concern throughout the healthcare delivery process. Such errors have been occurring when dispensing, prescribing, or administering drugs to a patient. Some of the major causes of medication errors include ambiguities in brand names, improper communication, inadequate guidance, and poor techniques throughout the drug prescription process (Frith, Anderson, Tseng, & Fong, 2012). Within the past decade, experts in the healthcare sector have been focusing on powerful and evidence-based strategies in an attempt to deal with medication errors.Errors of Treating Patients in Medical Institutions Essay

Relevant Knowledge

Hayes et al. (2015) support the power of training because it equips NPs with adequate healthcare competencies. The suggested training should focus on appropriate skills that can guide medical practitioners throughout the healthcare delivery process. For instance, the training program can focus on the use of modern informatics to deal with the problems affecting the outcomes of the targeted patients. Medical informatics can guide nurses throughout the healthcare process (Frith et al., 2012). Past studies have shown conclusively that modern technologies can improve the speed of communication, report errors, and promote the level of collaboration. Training nurses and equipping them with modern technologies in healthcare practice can successfully address the challenge of medication error.Errors of Treating Patients in Medical Institutions Essay

Nursing should be treated as a science that requires constant decision-making and collaboration in order to produce desirable results. Nurse Administrators (NAs) should use their competencies to train their followers in different departments (Tsang, Yuk, & Sham, 2014). These leaders should focus on several skills that can improve the performance of their respective nurses. Every department has its unique issues and expectations. Throughout the training process, the NAs should offer evidence-based ideas that can guide their followers to address the obstacles affecting their clients (Hayes et al., 2015). The training process will make it possible for nurses to work as a team, identify potential sources of errors, and make an appropriate adjustment throughout the healthcare delivery process.Errors of Treating Patients in Medical Institutions Essay

The other evidence-based practice supported by the above PICOT question is the concept of lifelong learning. Many specialists in medical practice believe strongly that nursing knowledge advances every day. NPs who have access to new information will apply it effectively in their health care practice. This fact explains why the suggested training programs should equip caregivers with improved skills and guide them to seek knowledge (Anderson & Townsend, 2015). The lifelong learning approach will ensure nurses focus on new approaches, competencies, initiatives, and strategies that reduce medical problems (Tsang et al., 2014). The practitioners will also study widely and liaise with different professionals in the sector.

Researchers have attributed medication errors to poor dosage calculations. This gap has made it impossible for many patients to receive quality medical support from their respective healthcare facilities. Proper training strategies focusing on the relevance dosage calculation have been suggested by experts in the recent past (Karthikeyan et al., 2015). Throughout the training process, nurses should be empowered in order to improve their dosage calculation competencies.Errors of Treating Patients in Medical Institutions Essay