Medical Errors

Not all medical errors carry extreme consequences like those described in this week’s introduction, but they are harmful just the same. Most people have experienced some form of medical error. For example, perhaps you were prescribed a medication that interfered with another of your medications. Perhaps you received an inaccurate diagnosis that led to unnecessary testing or prolonged discomfort. For this Journal, you reflect on an experience you had with a medical error and explore tools that could have assisted in prevention.

references:

Johnson, J. K., & Sollecito, W. A. (2020). McLaughlin & Kaluzny’s continuous quality improvement in health care (5th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Chapter 9, Assessing Risk and Preventing Harm in the Clinical Microsystem (pp. 234–251)

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2019c). Measurement of patient safety. Retrieved from https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primers/primer/35/Measurement-of-Patient-Safety

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2019a). Checklists. Retrieved from https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/checklists?q=/primers/primer/14

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2019b). Detection of safety hazards. Retrieved from https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/detection-safety-hazards

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2019d). Root cause analysis. Retrieved from https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/root-cause-analysis

Describe a time when you experienced a medical error as a student, practicing nurse, patient, or family member. Be sure to explain the circumstances of the error, as well as the quality and safety methods and tools that could have helped prevent the error. Be specific and provide examples.