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Essay / Human Factors Contributing to Medication Errors
Busy days and increased workloads can put any individual at higher risk of making errors. In healthcare settings, the increasing workload of nurses or doctors can lead them to make errors in administering medications. These sometimes may not cause any adverse effects on the client, but on the other hand, it can also cause problems in the clients which may also lead to their death. Lack of sleep, stress and inadequate diet are also some factors that contribute to medication errors. It's a sign that the brain needs the rest it needs and it's the body's natural way of telling you that you need rest. People often misunderstand acronyms or short forms used for medications. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay In an article published in August 2018, the acronym SWFI, which originally stood for Sterile Water for Injection, was misunderstood for sterile water for irrigation by the practitioner. The reconstituted solution was further diluted in a mini-bag containing saline administered to the client. Although the patient was not injured, this incident was reported to ISMP. It has also been reported that in some cases this acronym (SWFI) has also been confused with salt water for injection. The practitioner used 0.9% sodium chloride injection and reconstituted a medication that had required sterile water instead. This was a serious error that led the patient to further complications. The human factor of error contributed to this case as it involved the different ways of using an acronym. This is also due to a lack of knowledge, as there should be a standardized way to use SWFI and practitioners should also know what to do. And if there is a case where you are unsure, you should always take advantage of the privilege of asking your colleagues. Cognitive errors can also contribute to medication errors. Individuals may misread the dosage and administer the medication to the client either through the wrong medication, the wrong route, or sometimes even both. In a case study by the authors of the book: Nursing standard (2014), they discuss an error made while administering morphine that resulted in the death of a client. Morphine administration of 25 mg was administered subcutaneously instead of 2.5 mg. The nurse said she had misread the dosage on the ampoule and had given a higher dose. This example also shows that as nurses we need to recognize if the dose we are giving is incorrect and be sure to double check. If we still think it is an overdose, we should ask a colleague and question the prescription. Based on the article The Impact of Abbreviations on Patient Safety, they show us the different ways medication errors can occur when writing the article. One of them is the abbreviation of international units (IU). Studies have shown that people working in healthcare confuse IU with IV (intravenous) or even with the number 10. Another common mistake they reported is leading zeros after the value or lack of it. non-significant zero. Decimal points are often forgotten and can also lead to medication error. The two articles mentioned above illustrate how human factors can also lead to medication errors. Sometimes we.