MILESTONE 3 FINAL BASED ON WEEK 1 AND WEEK 2 FINAL PAPERS ( ALL ATTACHED)SHOULD READ THE LATEST FEEDBACK FROM PROFESSOR IN WEEK 3 JOURNAL FEEDBACK.text boook readingChapter 6: pages 185–196, 199–2

Assignment Criteria

Answers:

(NOTE: See Milestone 2 Rubric for details required in each area.)

Define:

Briefly States Approved Nursing Care Issue from Milestone 1

25 points

The approved nursing care issue from milestone one is deaths resulting from medication errors. Medication errors have significantly increased in the healthcare industry and this has led to many deaths which otherwise could have been avoided. According to research conducted by WebMed, approximately 64.55% of nurses have made some sort of medical errors. The most common type of medication error is the infusion rate and the wrong dosage.

Measure:

Identify Measures (Indicators; Data) to Support the Issue in Your Setting

75 points

Despite the substantial efforts applied to ensure that medication errors are avoided, the issue has still not been addressed effectively. According to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices for analysis, medication errors have resulted in not less than 20% of patients' deaths in healthcare facilities. According to the Food and Drug Administration, there have been approximately 30,000 medication errors reports since 1995. According to a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), 44,000-98,000 deaths are likely to be experienced each year due to medical errors in hospitals only. Moreover, the IOM report also establishes that more than 7,000 deaths are linked to medications every year.

In my local area where I have operated as a caregiver, I have witnessed many medical errors which have resulted in fatal health conditions of a patient or even deaths. Many nurses don't follow the clear prescription and they end up giving the wrong dosage to the patients. There also a number of times when I have witnessed the nurses giving the wrong medication to the patients due to lack of clear instructions. The doctors also at times fail to follow the doctrine of informed consent which has resulted in medication errors. There has been various government legislation enacted to protect the patients from any sort of medical error and to promote their safety. The patients are however not well informed of their rights and this calls for more training. The loss of lives which otherwise could have been avoided poses a great challenge to the entire world as potential people who could have changed the world end up losing their lives.

Measure:

List Titles of Stakeholders (important persons) and Their Roles in Improving this Nursing Care Issue

75 points

The main stakeholders who have the potential of improving the nursing care issue are the government and its agencies, the management of various hospitals, the doctors and nursing associations, and the patients and their families. It is the role of the government and its agencies to ensure that patients are trained on their medical rights and how they can ensure prevent medical errors. The government and its agencies also have to ensure that the doctors and the nurses are educated on quality care. The set rules and regulations ought to be adhered to promote efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare.

The caregivers who include the nurses and the doctors ought to implement the principles of quality care to ensure that medical errors are avoided at all costs. The doctors and nursing associations have the role of educating the healthcare staff on the ways that medication errors have to be avoided. There ought to be effective communication in every healthcare organization if the medication errors have to be avoided at all costs. The management of every healthcare facility should establish rules and regulations that need to be followed to facilitate effective communication and interaction between the patients and the caregivers. The patients also need to know their rights and ensure that there is quality in the care offered to them. Patients should always ask questions on the medical prescriptions and instructions given to them to ensure that they receive quality and individualized care.

Analyze:

Analyze the Possible Causes of the Nursing Care Issue

50 points

There are various causes of medication errors in healthcare. First, the issue is caused by poor communication between the patients and the caregivers. Lack of clear communication leads to wrong prescription and treatment which is a fatal medical error. Secondly, medication errors arise from the existence of medical abbreviations which end up being abbreviated, hence wrong dosage and treatment. Thirdly, medical errors arise from an inadequate flow of information due to stems within the organization. Fourth, medical errors arise from human problems especially when procedures, policies, care standards, and processes are not adhered to. Another major cause of medication errors are issues related to the patients and they include failure of acquiring the patient's consent, inadequate education to the patients, inadequate patient assessment, and unsuitable identification of the patients.