Medication Error Discussion PDF

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The cases of Julie Thao and Kimberly Hiatt is what I fear most—a medication error. Both were seasoned nurses that committed unintentional tort, which led to their patients’ death. Thao worked at St. Mary’s for 13 years and had a positive performance record before she administered IV bupivacaine instead of penicillin. Hiatt was a 25-year veteran nurse in a neonatal ICU. Hiatt gave an overdose of calcium chloride and committed suicide 7 months later (Grissinger, 2014).

All healthcare professionals can learn from these two cases. Professional negligence can be avoided by following the standards of care that are in place. Always follow the medication rights of administration. Never assume, always confirm. Avoid distractions when performing important tasks and avoid burnout fatigue.

I think the nurses were benevolent and not intentionally trying to hurt their patients, yet they failed to practice beneficence because they did not anticipate and prevent harm. I don’t think the hospital administrators demonstrated beneficence or benevolence with the nurses in either case. Beneficence requires one to act in a way that benefits others, promote good, prevent and remove from harm. The hospital Thao worked for, was issued six citations for violations of state and federal rules for not following safety measures that could have protected her from improperly removing the epidural bag from a locker. The day of the medication error, Thao was allowed to work 20 hours in a 28-hour period. In Hiatt’s case, she was not legally responsible for the infant’s death but contributed to the infant’s demise by overdosing her with calcium chloride. Hiatt was immediately escorted out of the hospital premises like a trespasser after devoting 25 years to her employer (Grissinger, 2014). Legally, the nurses had to face disciplinary action.

Ethically, the hospital administrators should have advocated for the nurses to receive less severe sanctions by the State Board of Nursing based on their outstanding record.

The virtues that the colleagues of Thao and Hiatt could have demonstrated would be compassion and caring. Realizing that the second victim to suffer and grieve is the nurse is important. Nurses will carry that anguish for the rest of their life. Hiatt found herself without a job, friends, devastated by the death of her patient and resorting to suicide due to the lack of a support system. Hiatt was treated like a criminal and Thao actually faced criminal charges. I think we should all feel some empathy for these two nurses because it can easily happen to us one day,

References Grissinger M. (2014). Too many abandon the "second victims" of medical errors. P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4159062/ Landro, L. (2016). New focus on averting errors: hospital culture. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527487045884045751235000964334 36...