Question

A nurse gives an incorrect medication to a patient without doing all of the mandatory checks, but the patient has no ill effects from the medication. What actions should the nurse take after reassessing the patient?

a. Notify the health care provider of the situation.
b. Document in the patient's medical record that an occurrence report was filed.
c. Document in the patient's medical record why the omission occurred.
d. Discuss what happened with all of the other nurses and staff on the unit.
e. Continue to monitor the patient for any untoward effects from the medication.
f. Send an occurrence report to risk management after completing it.

Answer 1

A nurse must notify the healthcare provider, document the medication error and actions in the patient's record without mentioning the occurrence report, file an occurrence report to risk management, and continue monitoring the patient.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a nurse administers incorrect medication without completing all of the mandatory checks and the patient experiences no ill effects, there is still a strict protocol that needs to be followed. This is a serious matter that highlights the critical importance of pharmacovigilance and patient safety protocols in healthcare settings.

Firstly, the nurse must notify the health care provider of the situation to assess the need for any immediate interventions or monitoring (a). Then, an occurrence report should be filled out and sent to risk management (f) to ensure the incident is properly recorded and analyzed for system improvements. This report is confidential and is not part of the patient's medical records. However, it is crucial to document in the patient's medical record the error and the actions taken afterward without mentioning the occurrence report (c). Lastly, the nurse should continue to monitor the patient for any untoward effects from the medication (e).

Discussing the issue with other nurses and staff on the unit could help prevent future errors (d), but it needs to be done in a manner that respects confidentiality and focuses on learning and prevention rather than assigning blame.