Nurses Relate the Contributing Factors

¶ … Nurses Relate the Contributing Factors Involved in Medication Errors" (2007), the authors examine in-depth the views of nurses on the factors which contribute to medication errors with the overall goal being to improve upon the current medication administration process in hospitals and clinics. In order to accomplish this goal, the authors include their aims and objectives, design and methods, results, and conclusions relevant to clinical practice via main factors and conditions.

Although the authors of this article discuss a number of important points related to medication errors, three stand out above all others. First and foremost, the authors make some very relevant comments in their introduction section pertaining to the fact that the administration of drugs and medication "remains a traditional task of nurses, consuming up to 40% of work time" and involving great responsibility via making sure that patients receive the right medication and the proper dosage (Tang, Sheu, Yu, Wei and Chen, 2007, p. 448). Also, as a result of the huge increase in the number of available medications for an entire plethora of disorders, the task of providing medications to patients has become more complex and difficult. For instance, in 1961, only 656 medications were available for patient illnesses as compared to more than 8000 as of 1995 with some 17,000 trade and generic drugs, numbers which surely will increase as the "baby boomer" generation ages and requires ever more medication (Tang, Sheu, Yu, Wei and Chen, 2007, p. 448).

Second, there are currently four stages through which a medication/drug must pass before being administered to a patient -- the prescription itself, transcription in an office setting, dispensing and lastly, administration to the patient. Obviously, all of these stages require correctness and accuracy, and as shown by the author's thorough research for this article, it is between the prescription and the administration of a medication stages that most errors occur, accounting for between 65% and 87% of all medication errors (Tang, Sheu, Yu, Wei and Chen, 2007, p. 448). However, due to the recent introduction of the CPOE system (Computerized Physician Order Entry), the authors surmise that this system will help to eliminate up to 80% of all medication errors (Tang, Sheu, Yu, Wei and Chen, 2007, p. 448).

Third, the authors make it abundantly clear that nurses themselves must accept the bulk of the responsibility when it comes to transcribing, dispensing and administering medications to patients. Of course, if the prescription itself, almost always filled out by a physician, is inaccurate, then the responsibility falls upon the prescribing physician, a situation which then leads to nurses dispensing and administering the wrong medication. In addition, the authors provide an analysis related to nurses failing to report their medication mistakes to the proper hospital/clinic authorities, due perhaps to "shame, guilt and the fear of punishment" from their superiors when informed of medication errors on the part of nurses (Tang, Sheu, Yu, Wei and Chen, 2007, p. 449).