NURSE'S ROLE

Nurses role in interrupting, identifying and preventing medical errors

Nurses role in interrupting, identifying and preventing medical errors

Introduction

Modern medicine has contributed enormously to saving human lives, improving the quality of human life and offering value-added services aimed at improving physical appearance, concealing human aging and the elimination of disease and harmful habits. This success is worth immense praise and recognition. However, applauding this success does not mitigate the act of aggressively questioning the medical profession in particular, as well as governmental and regulatory agencies and the large medical supply industry, about the unacceptable burden on patients resulting from poor medical practice. It is fundamental that the medical profession investigate, clearly define and eliminate instances of flawed or unethical medical practice that result in medical errors (Amdt 1994, p. 519-526).

Keeping in view the dilemma of medical errors, the issue of patient safety has acquired a central stage of discussion and debate across the globe. Patient safety is an important component of healthcare policies worldwide. Sadly, however, many hospitals do not adhere patient safety culture in their hospitals, even in the developed world. Since, this subject is of prime importance to the profession of medicine and nursing, it is necessary to understand the importance of patient safety.

This essay will be of immense importance to students and teachers of nursing and the medical profession, as well as, healthcare policy makers in Australia, for assessing why hospitals do not adhere to the culture of patient safety, despite its necessity, in different regions of the country. Particular importance will be placed to the role of nurses in preventing, identifying & interrupting medical errors.

Discussion

Current Definitions and Classification of Medical Errors

There is little agreement on a specific definition of a medical error. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines medical error in its landmark study, To Err Is Human, as follows:

An error is defined as the failure of a planned action to be completed as intended (i.e., error of execution) or the use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim (i.e., error of planning).

Simply, Clinical risk and/or medical error is defined as the possibility that a patient will suffer "harm or discomfort involuntary, attributable to health care, which causes a prolonged period of hospitalization, a deterioration of health or death (Garber et al., 2010, p. 400-457)

The Burden of Medical Errors

Medical errors may be easily considered the biggest cause of human death and disability among human industries such as aviation, road transport, mining and other industrial activities. Detailed documentation of errors started decades ago. In the United States in the 1970's, the California Medical Association with the collaboration of the California Hospital Association conducted the first major study on medical errors. The Medical Insurance Feasibility Study was carried out in response to rising medical litigation and rising costs of medical insurance, thereby leading to rising costs in health care (Childress, 2001). Public interest was the motive behind the study that helped the medical insurance industry create classifications, nomenclatures and evaluation techniques for medical ...