Nursing Errors

Nursing Errors

Introduction

The profession of nursing is a very dedicated and a respected profession. The patients trust their lives in the hands of a nurse and when sometimes if any nurse makes a mistake, he or she is reprimanded severely. This is done to ensure the safety of health and care of the patients. This may be considered as a positive thing as nursing is a professional profession and even minor mistakes could not be tolerated. This is due to the fact that these errors or mistakes could be fatal for a patient. There are various cases reported on the issue and proper and strict actions have been taken against these nurses. However, it is important to note that we consider nurses as individuals who are not even allowed a single mistake, but the thing to realize is that even these individuals are human and not angels. They could commit minor mistakes. Sever actions are always taken against nurses even when the situations are not fatal. Their careers end in a matter of days and they end up losing what they loved doing and planned to do all their lives. There have been numerous cases reported of nurses committing suicides just because they have dedicated their whole lives, studied and worked hard in a profession and now they are banned from ever treating a patient. This creates a mental trauma for the nurses and they tend to deal with this situation in a sense that could not be considered as normal. However, various critics argue that the nurses who are trained inadequately become responsible for injuring as well as killing thousands of patients every year. This is due to the fact that the hospitals carelessly sacrifice their safety for an improved bottom line (citation).

Discussion

The discussion is being conducted on an error made by a nurse in her practice. The nurse fed a patient some food which was not supposed to given to him. The food caused the patient with a serious allergic reaction, which worsened its condition. To ensure that this behavior is not repeated, the nurse asked herself a few questions.

Why did I allow this to happen ?

The nurse remembered the day when the incident took place. She recalled that she was already preoccupied with other thoughts at the time. She was thinking about her personal problems regarding her relationship with her boyfriend. She was so over confident that she took her job as routine and provided a patient with the food that she normally gives. She forgot to ask the patient on the things it might be allergic to. This is what allowed the mistreatment or error.

What should I have done differently ?

The nurse should have asked the patient if it was allergic to anything. Other than that, she should have also checked the doctor's prescribed chart. In that chart, all the necessary things are provided regarding the patient. The nurse should also have been more focused on her job and should not have taken it for ...