Tony, I enjoyed reading your discussion board. Medication administration is a very serious task performed by nurses. As you mentioned, the responsibility isn’t with only the provider, but also the nurse. Nurses are responsible for every order they follow or choose not to follow. Per Burkhardt and Nathaniel (2014), “Accountability is an inherent part of everyday nursing practice. Each nurse is accountable for all individual actions and omissions” (p.139). It is the responsibility of the nurse to advocate for the patient, and ensure no harm comes to the patient. If at any time I refused to follow a physician order, I too would have a valid reason. It would only be after I have exhausted all my resources, such as notifying the physician with
System failures and poor communication has led to decreased patient safety and satisfaction within the hospital. Three critical areas that need immediate solutions are the drug administration system, hand washing protocols and follow ups and communication between patients and clinicians. Dosage issues whether it is frequency of a drug given or if the patient has even received their medication have occurred because there is no standard system for drug administration . Also, there is little adherence and enforcement to handwashing when interacting with patients. Lastly, there is no protocol when following up with patients leaving them feeling frustrated with the negligence of the clinicians.
The aim of this assignment is to analyse the use of safe and effective prescribing which occurred in the student health visitors (HV)’s area of practice under the supervision of the practice teacher. The case study will be developed on the seven principles of the prescribing pyramid (NPC, 1999) and Driscoll model of reflection will be used to reflect on the prescribing scenario. In accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery ‘s professional code of conduct (NMC, 2015) confidentiality shall be maintained. Hence mother will be known as Debra and baby knows as Ella.
A review of the records reveals the member to be an adult female with a birth date of 03/14/1983. The member has a diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The member’s treating provider, Vickki-Ann Samuel, MD recommended the member continue treatment using the prescription medication Pexeva 30 mg.
Nurses should be encouraged to question the doctors if a wrong drug is prescribed. They should also restrain from taking verbal orders. Written signed orders should be mandated.
First, the medical assistant should convert the doctor’s prescription into layman’s terms for Doris. Medication A is two teaspoons by mouth every four hours. Medication B is 2.5 milliliters by mouth three times daily (Fulcher, Fulcher, & Soto, 2012, p. 1b). Doris should be cautious of confusing her medication dosages as that could lead to possible overdose. If Doris is afraid of mixing her medications, the medical assistant should convert to the unit that Doris is more comfortable with. For example, if Doris prefers milliliters, she should take around 9.8 milliliters of medication A. Alternatively, medication B could be taken at .5 teaspoons (Fulcher, Fulcher, & Soto, 2012, p. 131). Patients taking multiple medications should have a medication
Medication administration is not only an increasing source of civil and administrative liability for school districts, but may lead to legal questions for school counselors, psychologists, and social workers(Mazur-Mosiewicz et al, 2009). Medication and its administration in school settings by school personnel have been topics addressed by both the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the U.S. Department of Education and the federal courts as it relates to Section §504 and the IDEA. The rulings clearly suggest that schools have little power to limit their legal responsibilities, selectively deny administration of psychoactive prescriptive medication, and delegate the service to parents(Mazur-Mosiewicz et al, 2009).
Nearly half of seniors do not take their medications when or how they were prescribed. There are mistakes on dosages, methods of delivery, time of delivery, what they should be taken with, and even if they should still be taken. Compounding the issue, most seniors over the age of 65 are taking between 8 and 13 different medications. Put these numbers together and it is no wonder that problems with medication management are one of the leading reasons seniors end up in the emergency room, and is the number one reason seniors end up back in the hospital after being recently discharged. According to a study published in "Pharmacotherapy", nearly 70 percent of hospitalized seniors suffered from at least one
Firstly, our current pharmacare system does not provide access to individuals who need prescription drugs and are unable to afford it (Morgan, Daw and Law 2014). Prescription drugs are inputs into the broader health care system. As such, if prescription drugs are taken on time, this allows the healthcare system to meet patient health needs (Morgan, Daw and Law 2014). Secondly, our current pharmacare system does not ensure that the financial costs associated with necessary medicine are equally distributed (Morgan, Daw and Law 2014). Unequal distribution of the costs of necessary medicine can further drive income inequality (Morgan, Daw and Law 2014). Also, employers are under no obligation to continue providing private insurance for their employees
A hypothesis about the key issue would be that inappropriate administration of medication can increase the likelihood for medication noncompliance. As a fourth year student, I have learned much from my psychology minor in regards to medication issues and compliance; however have limited experience with psychiatric patients in my clinical practicum. I am also aware and practice the eight rights of medication administration. I am also aware that a nurse should watch patients swallowing medication. Despite this, as a nursing student that is training to become a registered nurse, I found myself in a situation of distraction and confusion. I had thought that water was available at her bedside as I had refilled her cup earlier. Assuming there was
The administration of medication can be associated with a significant risk with it is recognized as a central feature of the nursing role. It should continue in order to avoid a possible medical malpractice continuous care. Nursing staff have a unique role usually given to patients to manage their medication and responsibilities, then they can report these identified medication errors. Some of the most distinguishable events can be related to errors in professional practice, prescribing, dispensing, distribution, and education or monitoring. Since medication errors can arise at any state of the administration process, it is essential for nursing staff to be attentive of the most commonly encountered errors. For the most part, the common of the perceptible aspects related with medication errors are due to minimal awareness about hospital policies, inappropriate implementation or latent conditions (Farinde, n.d).
The learning exercise, 8.10, discusses overcoming resistance to a needed change. As a charge nurse on the hospital unit, the facility recently implemented a new safeguard measure for medication administration, BCMA scanning system. The new medication administration system decreases medication errors and improves patient safety. The new bar-coding system works in the following way, the nurse administering medications scans their badge, the patients’ hospital arm band, the medication to be administered, and lastly verifies the medication against the patients’ medication record. As staff, each one of us must be held accountable for keeping safe environment, and providing exceptional care. (Marquis & Huston, 2015).
The ability to become reflective in practice has become a necessary skill for health professionals. This is to ensure that health professionals are continuing with their daily learning and improving their practice. Reflective practice plays a big part in healthcare today and is becoming increasingly noticed.
Nurses have a responsibility to understand and operate with the confines of the law concerning medications. However the responsibility does not end at the law there are also ethical, moral if you will, implications. Writing prescription for patients is an integral part of providing care for patients in today’s society (Arcangelo & Peterson, 2013). Ethical concerns with prescription writing include understanding medications and ensuring that individual prescribers take responsibility for the care they each provide. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics Provision 3 (2015), indicates that the nurse will promote, advocates, and protect the rights, health, and safety of the patient. This means that when a nurse realizes a mistake has
When I say this, however, most people would picture the nurse giving the wrong medication due to lack of focus on the tasks at hand. While this could happen, I have noticed during my time at hospitals that the doctor orders are still hand written for the most part. Consequently, they can be very hard to be read legibly much less correctly translated into proper medication dosages. The first suggestion I would give to an organization would be that they required all orders to be submitted securely, by the doctors, to the pharmacy be electronic means.
There are other pharmacy staff who also have roles in relation to the safe dispensing of medicines. A pharmacist is responsible for: Overall checking of a prescription to make sure that it is legal and written by a person qualified to do so, dispensing the right quantity of the correct medicine, ensuring that medicines are correctly labelled with the person’s name, the name of the medicine and the dosage, providing advice and treatment for minor illnesses, injuries and health concerns, providing a repeat prescription service in co-operation with GP