Living at the sharp end: moral obligations of nurses in reporting and disclosing errors in health care

Nurses are mandated to keep patients safe. When that safety is threatened by a nursing error, the nurse as a moral agent has the obligation to report and disclose the error to the appropriate people honestly and fully. Telling the truth should be a closely held value by all nurses. Nurses must continue to act as advocates for their patients while recognizing their own human frailties. Human errors are inevitable in the practice of nursing. They cannot completely be eradicated, although they can be reduced. Nursing's ethical imperative is to exhaust our efforts in correcting the processes and situations that lead to error.