Medication Errors and Their Relationship with Care Complexity and Work Dynamics.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Medication errors are a significant concern in healthcare.
• Work environment, organizational management, and nursing staff influence error rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence of nurses' medication errors.
• To investigate the relationship between medication errors, care complexity, and work dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional study with census sampling (N=100).
• Utilized questionnaires for demographics, work dynamics, medication administration errors, and nursing care complexity.
• Data analyzed using SPSS with independent t-tests and Pearson's correlation.

Main Results:

• Common errors included medication calculation, wrong dose, and wrong medication (non-injectable); and drug incompatibility, wrong infusion rate, and calculation errors (injectable).
• Positive correlations found between specific errors (e.g., calculation, wrong solvent, incompatibility) and work dynamics.
• Medication calculation errors and wrong medication showed a positive correlation with nursing care complexity.

Conclusions:

• Working conditions significantly impact medication error occurrence.
• Adjusting and understanding nurses' working conditions can reduce medication errors.