Medication errors are believed to be the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. These deaths can be prevented by the reduction of medication administration errors (MAEs) in the healthcare environment. Dr. Jean Watson implemented several simple caring practices at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta, Ga in 2009. The intention of these practices was to implement small changes on the nursing floor during the times of medication administration in an effort to eliminate distractions and interruptions of the nurse. Some of the changes included having the nurse wear a bright colored sash to alert others that he or she was administering medications as well as the nurse to taking a moment before administering the meds to review the seven
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Many organizations are involved throughout the country to help reduce medication errors and numerous guidelines and procedures have already been implemented in facilities around the world. Some include increasing patient identifiers, improved labeling and packaging of medications that look alike and sound alike, implementation of bar code systems, and medication error reporting mandates. Technology has played a big part in helping to reduce errors by computerizing everything , however, technology alone is not the answer. One of the biggest problems contributing to MAEs are the interruptions and distractions of the nurse while administering medications. The implementation of the bright colored sash to be worn by the nurse during medication administration aimed to create a distraction free and interruption free zone. This low-tech initiative led to significant reductions in MAEs at a number of hospitals (Nelms & Jones 2011). Kaiser South San Francisco Medical Center saw as much as a 60% reduction in errors, while others had as much as a 20% reduction in MAEs after only 30 days. Not only did it decrease medication errors, but it also reduced the amount of time it took the nurse to administer medications and led to on time delivery of …show more content…
This may have been due to the short length of the study as well as the overall impression of the study by the nursing and supportive staff. While some of the aspects of the study were embraced, nurses and personnel on the unit floor found that the intervention as a whole became an additional stressor for them while at work. Findings from this study showed that the “no interruption” sash became more of a distraction because patients and family’s wanted to know more about it, creating an additional interruption. Ultimately, nurses must give themselves permission to say to others, “I am in the process of a profoundly important process and cannot be disturbed now” (Nelms & Jones, 2011). Eliminating MAEs is a big task, and clearly a very important one. I found the article to be very informative and although the implementation of the sash and the “Zen” handwashing are both good ideas, they do seem a bit impractical. I agree that nurses need to have uninterrupted time when administering medications for the safety of their patients and that cooperation and teamwork among fellow nurses would be key in implementing less distractions during that
Many organizations are involved throughout the country to help reduce medication errors and numerous guidelines and procedures have already been implemented in facilities around the world. Some include increasing patient identifiers, improved labeling and packaging of medications that look alike and sound alike, implementation of bar code systems, and medication error reporting mandates. Technology has played a big part in helping to reduce errors by computerizing everything , however, technology alone is not the answer. One of the biggest problems contributing to MAEs are the interruptions and distractions of the nurse while administering medications. The implementation of the bright colored sash to be worn by the nurse during medication administration aimed to create a distraction free and interruption free zone. This low-tech initiative led to significant reductions in MAEs at a number of hospitals (Nelms & Jones 2011). Kaiser South San Francisco Medical Center saw as much as a 60% reduction in errors, while others had as much as a 20% reduction in MAEs after only 30 days. Not only did it decrease medication errors, but it also reduced the amount of time it took the nurse to administer medications and led to on time delivery of …show more content…
This may have been due to the short length of the study as well as the overall impression of the study by the nursing and supportive staff. While some of the aspects of the study were embraced, nurses and personnel on the unit floor found that the intervention as a whole became an additional stressor for them while at work. Findings from this study showed that the “no interruption” sash became more of a distraction because patients and family’s wanted to know more about it, creating an additional interruption. Ultimately, nurses must give themselves permission to say to others, “I am in the process of a profoundly important process and cannot be disturbed now” (Nelms & Jones, 2011). Eliminating MAEs is a big task, and clearly a very important one. I found the article to be very informative and although the implementation of the sash and the “Zen” handwashing are both good ideas, they do seem a bit impractical. I agree that nurses need to have uninterrupted time when administering medications for the safety of their patients and that cooperation and teamwork among fellow nurses would be key in implementing less distractions during that