Safety Issues in Nursing: Medication Errors in Surgical Wards

This essay critically analyzes safety issues in nursing, particularly medication errors within surgical wards. It emphasizes that medication errors are a significant concern, potentially leading to patient harm, prolonged hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs. The essay delves into the Australian and international research highlighting the incidence of medication-related complications. It explores nurses' crucial role in ensuring patient safety by adhering to evidence-based practices and NMBA standards, focusing on comprehensive reviews and strategies to promote patient safety. The essay further discusses the impact of medication errors on patient outcomes and the responsibilities of nurses in preventing such errors, emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement and collaboration to enhance patient care. It concludes by reinforcing the nurses' accountability and the importance of proactive measures to prevent medication errors and improve patient outcomes. The provided references provide further context to the discussed issues.

Running head: SAFETY ISSUES IN NURSING
SAFETY ISSUES IN NURSING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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SAFETY ISSUES IN NURSING
Introduction
Medication plays a vital function in patient treatment which continues to enhance clinical
conditions dramatically when safely and correctly utilized. However, medications are also a
significant source for error and negative events in medical care, given that they are used so often.
During the course of stay in the hospital, almost any patient who is admitted is given at least one
drug (Cadogan, Ryan & Hughes, 2016). Australian and International studies Australian and
International research show a large incidence of medication induced complications, involving
medication errors and hospitalization-related adverse medication reactions (ADRs). Medical
errors may be described as a failure to in the administering of medication that can trigger or
cause patient harm during the treatment phase. Medication complications can be the cause for
referral to hospitals, whereas other unnecessary incidents arise during hospital stays. Medication
errors can occur when a patient is admitted to the hospital, when medicines are prescribed, when
medications are delivered, or even during their time of the patient’s discharge from the hospital.
While all medical personnel can cause medication errors, nurses are primarily responsible. This
is because most of the medical procedures, including medication and other treatments are
conducted by nurses. In order to ensure patient’s safety, nurse must practice by adhering to the
evidence based practice guidelines and principles (Kieft et al., 2014). According to the standard
6 of the NMBA standard of practice, nurses must delegate efficiency measures and ethical
priorities. They must be focused on a thorough and comprehensive review and the best available
evidence for the implementation of expected and approved outcomes. Thus, nurses must improve
their practice by focusing on the development and implementation of strategies for promoting
patient’s safety (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2020).

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Discussion
As the highest medical personnel, the nurses utilize their skills, abilities and experience to
meet the diverse and evolving demands of the patient. Nurses working environment may also
evaluate the consistency and safety of their patients ' health care. Most of the medical service
outcomes are based on the performance of health care practitioners. For situations where
treatment is short of quality, whether because of the availability of services (e.g., shortage of
personnel and required medical equipment) or because of the absence of proper policies and
procedures, the nurses are ultimately accountable. Safety of patients is a crucial and necessary
part of clinical treatment. The nation's healthcare program is nevertheless vulnerable to errors
and, due to basic service errors that may affect safe patient treatment. A variety of stakeholders
including doctors, nurses and healthcare organization are responsible for ensuring that the
treatment of a patient is safe and there is no risk to their health (Wilson et al., 2016).
Patient safety is described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as prevention of
mistakes and adverse health-related consequences and to not harm patients (who.int, 2020).
Globally, millions of people suffer each year from unsafe treatment procedures, injuries or death.
This developed in a greater understanding of the concept of patient safety, the introduction of
patient safety strategies into healthcare organizations’ strategic plans and an increasing need to
conduct further research in this area to promote patient’s safety (Lawati et al., 2018). The
primary professional goal of every nurse is to ensure patient safety and to develop strategies for
achieving it. Medication failures are one of the most frequent and prevailing incidents affecting
safety of patients. Medication error is associated with a higher rate of morbidity, an increased
risk of developing further complications, slower recovery, longer hospital stay and even an

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increased rate of mortality. The delivery of medical orders is an essential aspect of the cycle of
recovery and health treatment. It is also a core component of nursing success and plays a vital
role in improving health outcome of patients. Medication mistakes may greatly impact patient
care and medical rates and result in complications for patients and their families. Administering
medications are considered to be a critical role of nurses as potential errors can have unexpected
and harmful effects for the patient. Although prescription errors may be induced by all healthcare
staff members, nurses are mostly held liable for this. This is because most medical procedures
are carried out by nurses, and approximately 40 percent of their time in the hospital is spent
prescribing medications. Studies have found that about a portion of the patient problems are
result of drug failures in both developing and developed countries (Roughead, Semple &
Rosenfeld, 2016).
Medical safety is a major concern in Australia at different points of the patient intensive
treatment process. Nevertheless, in the sense of more complicated treatment, the severity of
medication-related complications in intensive care must be considered. An additional 230000
medical admissions are per year associated with medication errors. This means average expenses
of AU$ 1.2 billion in pharmaceutical admissions (Roughead, Semple & Rosenfeld, 2016).
Anyone who works with health would strive to build a healthcare environment that is safe
and reliable. The Australian Health Care Safety and Quality Framework, which offers a
framework for healthy and good quality treatment for all Australians, has then established and
lays out the steps taken to fulfill this goal. The system lays out three main concepts to guarantee
secure and high-quality care; they are patient protection, information-driven and safety-
organized. This framework specifies that any healthcare provider will conform to the standards,
practices and guidelines established within the institution to ensure healthy and high-quality

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treatment. These procedures and guidelines may involve recognition of patients, hand washing,
prevention of controllable adverse events, safety of medications and clinical handovers
(Safetyandquality.gov.au, 2020).
Conclusion
Nurses are mostly kept liable for the harm to patients, although, they function in the
treatment environment with other physicians and certain providers or workers who might have
rendered a mistake, which is inevitable. However, nurses can and should be indispensable to
avoid patient harm and improve outcomes. Medication errors, although, is a prevailing issue
affecting a large population, it is preventable if proper measures are taken. Medication errors
involve administering the incorrect drug in the prevention or treatment step of the recovery
cycle. Administration of medicine is one of the most critical, dynamic, yet essential treatment
systems and needs the correct skill and expertise of nurses. Thus, improving the outcome will be
focused on evidence-analysis guided by ongoing data and knowledge evaluations. Furthermore,
in addition to implementing their expertise, skills and knowledge, nurses are called upon to
constantly enhance the mechanisms of care and to support their peers and coworkers in their
attempts to insure patients are equipped with the most appropriate service irrespective of their
demographic conditions, ethnicity, gender or socio-economic conditions.

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References
Cadogan, C. A., Ryan, C., & Hughes, C. M. (2016). Appropriate polypharmacy and medicine
safety: when many is not too many. Drug safety, 39(2), 109-116.
Kieft, R. A., de Brouwer, B. B., Francke, A. L., & Delnoij, D. M. (2014). How nurses and their
work environment affect patient experiences of the quality of care: a qualitative
study. BMC health services research, 14(1), 249.
Lawati, M. H. A., Dennis, S., Short, S. D., & Abdulhadi, N. N. (2018). Patient safety and safety
culture in primary health care: a systematic review. BMC family practice, 19(1), 104.
Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. (2020). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Registered
nurse standards for practice. Retrieved 23 March 2020, from
https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-
standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-practice.aspx
Roughead, E. E., Semple, S. J., & Rosenfeld, E. (2016). The extent of medication errors and
adverse drug reactions throughout the patient journey in acute care in
Australia. International journal of evidence-based healthcare, 14(3-4), 113-122.
Safetyandquality.gov.au. (2020). Australian Safety and Quality Framework for Health Care.
Retrieved 23 March 2020, from
https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/migrated/ASQFHC-Guide-
Healthcare-team.pdf
who.int. (2020). Patient safety. Retrieved 23 March 2020, from
https://www.who.int/patientsafety/about/en/

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Wilson, A. J., Palmer, L., Levett-Jones, T., Gilligan, C., & Outram, S. (2016). Interprofessional
collaborative practice for medication safety: Nursing, pharmacy, and medical graduates’
experiences and perspectives. Journal of interprofessional care, 30(5), 649-654.