Delivering High Quality and Safe Nursing Care for Children (Coursework Sample)

Delivering high quality, safe nursing care for children and young people and their families
Introduction:
The risk assessment topic that has been chosen for this report is “Medication error”
This report will contain the brief background of what medication error is. Further, this report will contain the appraisal of research-based evidence in relation to “medication error”. A critical analysis of complexities of care delivery in case of medication error and how it affects the child and family will also be added in this report. At the end, my role upon delivering the safe and high-quality care in relation to medication error will be evaluated. The discussion will basically be consisting of my role as a nurse in medication error, how it will affect child and the family and what should be the clinical setting for medication error.
It is possible to define a medication error as a failure in the treatment process that results in injury to the patient or has the potential to result in harm to the patient (Assiri, 2018). The usage of the word "failure" indicates that the procedure did not meet some attainable norm, which is the meaning behind the word. The phrase "treatment process" can refer to the treatment of symptoms or the causes of those symptoms, the examination of disease, or the avoidance of physiological changes. Not only medicinal medications, but also the substances discussed previously, are included in this category. It also involves the process of producing or compounding, prescription, transcribing (where appropriate), dispensing, and administering a medicine, as well as monitoring the effects of the drug after it has been used. The word "harm" in the definition also suggests "lack of benefit," which is a type of unsuccessful treatment. It is important to note that the definition does not define who is accountable for making the error – it may be a doctor, a nurse, a chemist, a caretaker, or another individual – nor does it say who is capable of preventing errors (Mansur, 2016).
Medication error as a risk:
Medication errors can result in significant bodily harm and even death for patients. These errors can be caused by flaws in the system, but they can also be the consequence of simple human error (Robertson, 2018). These errors, which may be avoided, may also result in significant financial, mental, and emotional strain on the healthcare professional as well as the organization. Following are the risks that medication error could cause not only for the patients but also for the medical institutions:
The implications of medication errors might range from having no noticeable symptoms to causing mortality at any time along the process. In rare instances, it might result in a new condition that can be either temporary or permanent, such as skin deformity, itching, or rashes on the skin. Even though they are rare, pharmaceutical errors can put patients at risk for serious injury or even death. The death of a loved one is always a terrible blow. Friends and family of the departed person have a more difficult time coming to grips with the loss when they are aware that their loved one's passing could have been avoided.
If a physician or nurse accidentally administers the incorrect drug to a patient, or comes dangerously close to doing so, they may experience feelings of embarrassment, guilt, and self-doubt. This is commonly referred to as the second victim (Dekker, 2013), and the consequence of this syndrome can be fatal: a senior nurse attempted suicide after she overdosed a vulnerable newborn with 10 times more calcium chloride than was recommended. The baby died as a result of the overdose.
It is also possible for patients or family members of patients to file a claim for personal injury against a healthcare provider on the grounds that the healthcare professional was negligent. This may have an impact on the healthcare professional's capacity to grow in their career as well as the likelihood that their license may be revoked. The mental and emotional toll that litigation can place on medical personnel is in addition to the strain that comes from the stress caused by pharmaceutical errors (Helo, 2017).
Patients or members of patients' families could pursue a claim for personal injury not just against the health professional, but also against the hospital setting where the health professional is employed. In the event of a legal challenge, hospitals risk incurring enormous legal counsel and probable settlement costs. Additionally, it is possible that hospitals will be required to compensate for the lost productivity of the staff members who were involved in the error, in addition to the higher costs associated with the unanticipated prolonged hospitalization and care of the patients.
Impact of medication error on patient:
Medication errors can result in undesirable consequences such as an increased risk of death, an extended length of hospitalization, and greater costs associated with medical care. Errors in medication are a problem for children of all ages in all care settings, including the home, outpatient and inpatient hospitals, and emergency rooms (Ruzangi, 2020). Children may be at a greater risk than adults because of their smaller size and more variable physiology, their limited capacity for communication, and their care by non-pediatric health care practitioners. Patients who suffer from chronic illnesses and use a significant number of drugs may have an increased likelihood of suffering negative effects from their prescription.
Some errors in medication can modify the outcome for a patient, although in most cases, the change does not cause any harm. Other medication errors have the possibility of causing harm, but they do not actually result in any harm being suffered by the patient. Serious medication errors, on the other hand, that go unnoticed and uncorrected can really do the patient harm. According to the findings of one study,