Medication errors and nursing responsibility

Medication errors could effectively be reduced by systematically identifying, eliminating, or minimizing human and system risks. However, errors associated with random events may never be controlled by risk reduction efforts because of the unpredictability of the events preceding the error. Identifying and reducing risks is as important as acknowledging medication errors after they occur. A preliminary model including risks and types of medication errors is presented in Fig 1. Additional classification and explanation is needed in order to identify strategies to reduce medication errors. Medication administration is a nursing function that incorporates scientific knowledge, technical skill, and ritualistic practice. When nurses give medications and make medication errors, they remember their responsibility to do good and avoid harm. Nurses can better exert this responsibility by taking a more prospective, risk-reduction approach to medication errors.