NHS-FPX4000 Assessment 2-1 docx Applying Research Skills

Applying Research Skills

Changes in the healthcare sector require healthcare professionals to play active roles in identifying viable and sustainable solutions. Medication errors are among the challenges that require proactive interventions to enhance the quality and safety of patient care. The issue reinforces the need for individual and collaborative efforts towards identifying credible and reliable evidence on the causes, consequences, and evidence-based solutions for medication errors. An incident involving wrong medication administration at Vibra Hospital of Sacramento highlights the need for proactive and sustainable measures to sustain organizational reputation and optimize care outcomes (Rahhal, 2019). The scenario involved excessive administration of Levophed, leading to the patient’s death and a penalty of $75,000. The outcomes reveal the adverse impact of medication errors and efforts necessary to maintain desired standards.

Medication Errors

Medication errors are among the most common incidents within a complex healthcare environment. The preventable incidents expose patients, healthcare providers, and relevant affiliates to adverse outcomes including additional costs, litigations, and premature deaths. In this case, a nurse may administer the wrong dosage, use the wrong route, or misidentify a patient. Similarly, medication errors entails administering medication at the wrong time. The outcomes include adverse drug reactions associated with severe complications, prolonged hospitalization, readmissions, and mortality threats. Worrying rates and severity of medication errors reinforce the need for proactive measures, including modified policies, procedures, and technologies to restore safe and quality health services. Significant improvements demonstrate organizational commitment to making meaningful progress towards responding to the needs of every patients including those in need of high-risk and life-saving medications.

Credible and reliable evidence from peer-reviewed articles provide insights into the extent of the problem and solutions that help improve care outcomes. For instance, evidence from Nursing Reports, Evidence-Based Nursing, and Nurse Education in Practice enable clinical researchers to make informed conclusions about the different causes, impacts, and interventions for improving standards of care. Keywords such as medication errors, medication administration errors, and medication safety guide researchers to identify sources with accurate and relevant findings about errors. For credibility and reliability, it is crucial to consider articles published within the last five years. Similarly, authoritative source are vital to ensure that the authors’ credentials and organizational affiliation match the requirements for producing a research paper. Lastly, the identified sources are relevant based on appropriateness of the information and the ease of using the findings for a research paper.

Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography include four peer-reviewed articles selected based on their currency, authority, and relevance. The findings provide objective evidence appropriate for educating and informing the audience about medication errors, consequences, and interventions meant to improve the quality, safety, and cost of patient care.

Alandajani, A., Khalid, B., Ng, Y.G., & Banakhar, M. (2022). Knowledge and attitudes regarding medication errors among nurses: A cross-sectional study in major Jeddah hospitals. Nursing Reports, 12(4), 1023-1238. https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/12/4/98

The article focuses on the influence of nurses’ knowledge and attitudes on the safety of medication administration. The authors address medication error as a multifactorial concern associated with the nursing team by-passing standards, procedures, and policies. The life-threatening impact reinforce the need for positive attitudes and behaviors as well as increased knowledge. The practice reduce the risk of non-adherence to the rights of safe medication administration. The nursing team pay attention to calls for right timing, dosage, patient, route, and medication to reduce the prevalence of medication errors. The rationale for using the article is because it focuses on nurses’ roles in maintaining a safe clinical environment. The group’s frontline roles make them primary plays in identifying and intercepting risks associated with severe complications, readmissions, prolonged hospital stays, and premature deaths.

Berdot, S., & Sabatier, B. (2018). Medication errors may be reduced by double-checking method. Evidence-Based Nursing, 21, (3), 67-67.