Abstract
Session presented on: Tuesday, July 23, 2013: Purpose: From a better understanding of factors that contribute to the likelihood of a nurse to report an error, interventions can be identified to help increase reporting in order to learn from error and reduce the possibility of similar error. To learn from the lived experience of the nurse, the research question became, 'What factors contribute to a nurse's likelihood to report an error?' Methods: A qualitative research study was conducted to explore the medication error experience. Structured group interviews were conducted using open-ended questions. A total of 54 registered nurses participated. Results: Several themes emerged around a nurse's likelihood to report a medication error: The nurse's foremost concern is the wellbeing of the patient; If managers are supportive in response to error, a nurse is likely to report again; Nurses want to be held accountable for their errors; Nurses are more likely to report in an environment perceived as non-punitive; Nurses struggle with wanting to be perfect; Nurses engage in a process of reconciliation between wanting to be perfect and yet having just made a medication error; Nurses question their own competence after making an error; and Nurses want to be involved in synthesizing error reports. Conclusion: Findings have implications for both schools of nursing and health care organizations: Theories of human performance, complex systems, production pressure, and high hazard industry should be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum and reinforced in health care organizations; Education and training should be available to managers who immediately counsel the nurse who has made an error; Procedures used in reporting should be evaluated in order to promote the most efficient and most private process possible; Structures and processes should be put into place to engage the bedside nurse in synthesizing and interpreting the data around medication error; and feedback provided to demonstrate that organizations can learn from error and change long standing traditional practices.
Sigma Membership
Unknown
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
nurse, error, report
Recommended Citation
Kingston, Francine K., "Nurse Likelihood to Report a Medication Error" (2013). INRC (Congress). 222.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2013/presentations_2013/222
Conference Name
24th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Prague, Czech Republic
Conference Year
2013
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Nurse Likelihood to Report a Medication Error
Prague, Czech Republic
Session presented on: Tuesday, July 23, 2013: Purpose: From a better understanding of factors that contribute to the likelihood of a nurse to report an error, interventions can be identified to help increase reporting in order to learn from error and reduce the possibility of similar error. To learn from the lived experience of the nurse, the research question became, 'What factors contribute to a nurse's likelihood to report an error?' Methods: A qualitative research study was conducted to explore the medication error experience. Structured group interviews were conducted using open-ended questions. A total of 54 registered nurses participated. Results: Several themes emerged around a nurse's likelihood to report a medication error: The nurse's foremost concern is the wellbeing of the patient; If managers are supportive in response to error, a nurse is likely to report again; Nurses want to be held accountable for their errors; Nurses are more likely to report in an environment perceived as non-punitive; Nurses struggle with wanting to be perfect; Nurses engage in a process of reconciliation between wanting to be perfect and yet having just made a medication error; Nurses question their own competence after making an error; and Nurses want to be involved in synthesizing error reports. Conclusion: Findings have implications for both schools of nursing and health care organizations: Theories of human performance, complex systems, production pressure, and high hazard industry should be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum and reinforced in health care organizations; Education and training should be available to managers who immediately counsel the nurse who has made an error; Procedures used in reporting should be evaluated in order to promote the most efficient and most private process possible; Structures and processes should be put into place to engage the bedside nurse in synthesizing and interpreting the data around medication error; and feedback provided to demonstrate that organizations can learn from error and change long standing traditional practices.