Medication Errors

I am shocked to hear that a preceptor told a new nurse that performing the five rights of medication administration was a waste of time!!!! The five rights are there as a safety stop-gap to hopefully prevent an error. I won't even spend the time writing about how skipping the five rights is a violation of the law and can result in disciplinary action against your license.

I can look at cases where my client has made a medication error and point to which right(s) was skipped. Most of the time the nurse is able to move on and learn from these errors, but what of those errors that will haunt a nurse forever---to know that by cutting seconds, you killed someone.

I have spoken with nurses that face that knowledge every single day and it does haunt them. Most quit nursing and many face years of therapy to deal with the depression and guilt. It is even worse when it is a child.

Does this horror seem worth the few seconds gained?

Criminal Actions

I was told by a caller the other day that an attorney did not know the difference between parole and probation, so I thought it might be helpful to put the definitions here as an FYI:

Parole is a condition of early release from prison. The person has served some portion of their sentence. The person usually has restrictions and is supervised by a Parole Officer.

Probation means that the imposition of a sentence is suspended or stayed. The person has to fulfill certain requirements in order to avoid the imposition of a sentence.

Attention Texas Nurses

The Board of Nursing has proposed new rules concerning Peer Review in Texas. Be sure to read these today and if you disagree or agree with any of the proposed rules, send a comment immediately to the Board and contact your nursing organization and let them know your thoughts. These rules have the potential to affect your license, so do not sit by and be uninformed.

Medicare/Medicaid Exclusion

I posted this today but it showed up when I first began writing it, so I wanted to put a post today so that those of you that look for new entries would see it.