Factors contributing to medication errors in Turkey: nurses' perspectives
Makaleler > Tam Makale · 2014
Yazarlar: Ülkü GÜNEŞ, Oznur GURLEK, Munevver SONMEZ
Journal of Nursing Management, SCI Expanded İndekslerine Giren Dergi, Uluslararası, Wos, 2014, cilt 22, ss 295-303
DOI: 10.1111/jonm.12216
Özet
AIM: The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of nurses with regard to medication errors. BACKGROUND: Medication errors result in a significant proportion of the deaths related to avoidable medical errors in hospitals. DESIGN: A descriptive cross-sectional study. METHOD: This study was conducted on 243 nurses working in two state hospitals in Turkey. Data collection was by means of a questionnaire developed by the researchers. Medication errors were explored in three areas: types of error, contributing factors and reporting of errors. RESULT: Among the most frequent types of errors were administration of drugs not ordered by the doctor, administration of a drug prepared by someone else and administration of a drug to the wrong patient. Contributing factors for medication errors included 'having to write an order in place of the physician', and 'an oral request being given in a non-urgent situation'. CONCLUSION: These results show the need for a multi-disciplinary approach in the prevention of errors. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Hospital administrations should maintain adequate staffing levels. Improving medication error reporting is also imperative in order to enable nurses to document all errors and potential errors as adverse events.