Devastatingly Human: An Analysis of Registered Nurses’ Medication Error Accounts
Department
Sociology and Criminal Justice
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2010
Abstract
Despite many safeguards, nurses make the majority of medication administration errors. The purpose of our research was to investigate the perceived causes for such errors and to better understand how nurses deal with them. We performed an interpretive analysis of 158 accounts by nurses who made self-identified medication errors. We found common themes among these accounts. First, although nurses admitted responsibility for errors, they simultaneously identified a variety of external contributing factors. Second, nurses’ accounts were often framed in terms of "being new," with the underlying background expectancy of inexperience. Third, emotionally devastating visceral responses to errors were common and often incongruent with error severity. Fourth, nurses had to deal with fear. Fifth, nurses voiced frustrations with technologies and regulations. Sixth, embedded within many of the accounts was a "lessons learned" theme, through which nurses developed "personal rules" as a result of an error. We conclude with suggestions for additional research.
Journal Title
Qualitative Health Research
Journal ISSN
1049-7323
Volume
20
Issue
10
First Page
1327
Last Page
1342
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1177/1049732310372228