Abstract
This essay analyzes the problem associated with nurses’ incorrect prescription or administration of medications. The main hypothesis is that fatigue and psychosocial factors directly impact the efficiency of medical staff. This problem is relevant since its existence directly impacts patients and their health. Therefore, the main task of the medical community is to investigate and find opportunities for further prevention of such cases. This essay also points out various aspects related to medication errors. In addition, the risks faced by patients are considered. The primary purpose of this study is to identify the main aspects of this problem’s occurrence and to indicate recommendations for possible prevention. The presented recommendations will reduce the burden on the medical staff, which will have an impact on reducing the cases of errors in prescribing or using medications.
Introduction
One of the essential tasks in creating a safe hospital environment is identifying, recognizing, and eliminating various risk factors for medical personnel. In the work of a nurse, an emotional safety regime is important. Work related to the care of sick people requires special responsibility and significant physical and emotional stress. Psychological risk factors in the work of a nurse can lead to various types of disorders of the psycho-emotional state. All this leads to the fact that there is a risk of incorrect dispensing and prescribing of medicines to patients, which can have an impact on their health and well-being.
Culture of Safety Aspect
The analyzed culture of safety aspect is a medication error due to staffing fatigue and psychosocial issues. This problem has become a significant concern in healthcare since specialists began to indicate the need for careful and attentive treatment of prescribed medications. This topic is of interest to me since I am a nurse who was directly confronted with a situation when the wrong medications were prescribed to the patient. Such a problem is quite common, as the excessive workload of medical personnel explains it. Fatigue and various stressful situations affect concentration and attentiveness, leading to dangerous situations for the patient (Cho & Steege, 2021). The most common mistake of nurses is the incorrect administration of the drug. Half of the oversight happens with intravenous injections of drugs: the staff introduces the wrong medication, makes a mistake in the dose, incorrectly administers the injection, and prepares the solution in non-sterile conditions. Consequently, the existing problems and their solutions are particularly important for patients and medical staff.
Nurse professionals occupy one of the first places of specialties at high risk of emotional burnout syndrome. Their work involves daily close communication with people suffering from various ailments that require increased care and attention (Cho & Steege, 2021). When faced with negative emotions, the nurse unwittingly becomes involved in them, which is why she begins to experience increased emotional stress herself. The working conditions of a nurse differ in certain specifics, which may be significant for the formation of an emotional burnout syndrome (Cho & Steege, 2021). A large production load and round-the-clock operation can be the leading professional factors of its development. The causes of fatigue and nervousness can also be called exceeding the standard number of patients, a large amount of work on documentation, and low technical equipment in workplaces. Accordingly, such a condition directly impacts the results of labor activity.
Errors in prescribing medicines are prevalent, especially in certain categories of patients. Older people, women of childbearing age, and children are particularly at risk. Drug interactions are widespread in patients taking multiple medications. To reduce the risk, it is necessary to know all the medications taken by the patient (including those prescribed by other doctors and dispensed without a prescription) and keep their list up to date. Errors in prescribing medicines are also possible in medical institutions. In particular, the drug may be given to the wrong patient at the wrong time, or the wrong method of administration may be mistakenly prescribed (Manias et al., 2018). Some drugs should be administered intravenously slowly; some cannot be administered simultaneously. Many factors cause such gaps; however, the determining factor is fatigue and the emotional state of the staff.
The Background of the Safety Aspect
It should be noted that the similarity of the names and packages of different medicines is one of the frequent reasons for the incorrect prescription of medicines. Such mistakes often end in fatal outcomes. According to some authors, in the USA, more than 25% of all medical errors are caused by confusion due to similar names of medicines, and 33% of errors are associated with the use of the wrong drug due to the similarity of packaging design (Manias et al., 2018). Another article gives similar figures – 15-25% of erroneous prescriptions of medicines are caused by the similarity of spelling or pronunciation of their names (Dyab et al., 2018). In this case, it is all about the experience and education of the staff. In this case, the main danger is directed at the patient. This is because such cases can cause negative consequences that cannot be reversed or prevented.
On the other hand, the main reason, as noted earlier, is that employees are under constant pressure when working in a medical institution. Consequently, this is a factor that directly impacts them, significantly reducing the concentration. Psychoemotional stress in a nurse is associated with a constant violation of the dynamic stereotype and systematic violations of daily biorhythms associated with working different shifts. The nursing profession is one of the most difficult in the world, as it requires increased dedication, constant improvement of their own skills, extreme concentration, emotional stability, and a constant sense of personal responsibility for the life and health of their patients (Cho & Steege, 2021). Errors in the use of medicines and other problems associated with drug therapy need to be identified and analyzed, as this allows us to develop methods for their prevention. Medical professionals can make mistakes of any qualification, both beginners and those with extensive clinical experience.
Improvement
The problem of medical errors is relevant for all countries on all continents, but so far, only developed countries have taken an active position in preventing medical errors. About 50% of all medical mistakes and 75% of adverse reactions can be prevented by creating a single proven system (Sabzi et al., 2019). The computerization of medical institutions will eliminate errors in writing and memorizing prescriptions, and universal treatment regimens and protocols will protect employees from psychological factors — stress, fatigue, and forgetfulness. Successful teamwork and cooperation of a doctor, nurse, and pharmacist is the key to reducing the number of errors. I need to learn to work more closely with modern electronic systems in my nursing practice. Their use will reduce the load on storing information if all the necessary data is recorded in time in the database. However, on the other hand, it is necessary to rely on my own knowledge and carefully double-check and verify the information to avoid such cases.
In order to ensure the listed safety measures, a nurse at all stages of working with medicines is obliged to carry out their multi-stage control. In addition, drug therapy control involves monitoring the patient to determine adverse reactions to medications in time (Manias et al., 2018). However, these are only mandatory requirements that must be met in any situation. Considering the problem of fatigue and stress, it is essential to find ways and opportunities to prevent them is necessary. This will allow nurses and other medical staff to better cope with their monotonous and everyday professional tasks.
Emotional burnout occurs in nurses who have been experiencing stress in the workplace for a long time from multitasking and from problems adapting to activities. Using methods of preventing emotional burnout by nurses will make it possible to increase their emotional stability. Progress in the field of technical achievements allows the use of specialized trackers aimed at working with the emotional burnout of nurses (Cho & Steege, 2021). In addition, attention should also be paid to implementing various programs for scheduling employees in such a way that a balance of work and rest is observed. It is essential that the organizational culture of the medical institution meets these requirements, as it allows medical workers to feel more comfortable and not experience fatigue.
Conclusion
Most nurses experience enormous workloads due to round-the-clock involvement in the process of receiving patients, the number of which often exceeds the normative indicators. This becomes a determining factor in reducing concentration. Thus, the risks of prescribing the wrong drugs to patients increase, which leads to harmful consequences. However, if more comfortable and calm conditions are created, nurses’ physical and emotional states will improve, reducing the risks of such problems.
References
Cho, H., & Steege, L. M. (2021). Nurse fatigue and nurse, patient safety, and organizational outcomes: A systematic review. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 43(12), 1157–1168. Web.
Dyab, E., Elkalmi, R., Bux, S., & Jamshed, S. (2018). Exploration of nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers towards medication error reporting in a tertiary health care facility: A qualitative approach. Pharmacy, 6(4), 120. Web.
Manias, E., Cranswick, N., Newall, F., Rosenfeld, E., Weiner, C., Williams, A., Wong, I. C., Borrott, N., Lai, J., & Kinney, S. (2018). Medication error trends and effects of person-related, environment-related and communication-related factors on medication errors in a paediatric hospital. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 55(3), 320–326. Web.
Sabzi, Z., Mohammadi, R., Talebi, R., & Roshandel, G. R. (2019). Medication errors and their relationship with care complexity and work dynamics. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 7(21), 3579–3583. Web.