Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 4, 2025

A Novel Approach for the Administration of Medications and Fluids in Emergency Scenarios and Settings
Published on: November 9, 2016
Benefits of Reporting and Analyzing Nursing Students' Near-Miss Medication Incidents
Susan Dennison1, Michelle Freeman, Natalie Giannotti
1Clinical Practice Learning Specialist (Ms Dennison), Associate Professor Emeritus (Dr Freeman), Assistant Professor (Dr Giannotti), and Clinical Instructor and Doctoral Student (Ms Ravi), Faculty of Nursing, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
Developing competencies in reporting medication errors and near-miss incidents is a critical component of nursing student education. The benefits of reporting near-miss incidents by nursing students are unknown.
Purpose:
The aim was to analyze nursing students' near-miss incident reports for types of incidents and their contributing factors, assess the effectiveness of current procedures in catching these errors, and offer guidance on curricular improvements for medication administration content.
Method:
This quality improvement project analyzed 3 years of near-miss incidents (N = 236) submitted through the school's incident reporting system.
Results:
Five incident types accounted for 81.4% of incidents. Factors contributing to most incidents were communication (47.9%), competency and education (44.1%), environmental/human limitations (35.2%), and policies/procedures (29.2%).
Conclusion:
Safety experts emphasize that near-miss reports offer free lessons to prevent future errors. Nursing students' near-miss reporting is beneficial for both students and nursing programs.
Related Concept Videos
Types of Reports II: Incident or Occurrence Report
Purposes:
In the healthcare industry, reports play a crucial role in documenting incidents within an agency. The primary objective of these reports is to ensure patient safety, uphold the...
Pharmacovigilance
This process, termed pharmacovigilance, aims to detect, evaluate, and minimize harmful effects related to medication use. The data collection for pharmacovigilance depends on spontaneous reporting systems, where healthcare professionals or patients voluntarily report suspected ADRs.
In some cases, there...
Introduction to Documentation and Reporting
Nursing documentation records essential information and details regarding a patient's care and treatment in written or electronic form. It is a critical aspect of nursing practice that involves documenting assessments, interventions, outcomes, and other relevant details about a patient's health status.
Documentation maps the patient's health journey by creating a comprehensive...
Guidelines and Strategies for Safe Computer Charting
Maintain Confidentiality and Security:
Types of Reports III: Telephone and Verbal Reports
Here's an overview of each type:
Telephone Orders
Guidelines for Nursing Documentation I
Factual:
The following points emphasize the significance of upholding accurate and unbiased documentation in healthcare.

