Introduction
Medication errors can have grave implications such as possible harm to the patient and loss of life (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2013). Nonetheless, at the Centura St. Anthony Hospital, medication error has led to a terrifying new way of dealing with the issue and punishing health professionals on the wrong: criminal prosecution. One of the nurses was assigned care for the baby, the second one decided to assist her coworker in caring for the infant, and the third was a caregiver in the health institution’s nursery (Calfee & Plum, 1997). To address the baby’s condition, the doctor requested the nurses to administer 150 thousand units of penicillin in intervals (Calfee & Plum, 1997). Unnoticed by the nurses, the pharmacist wrongly provided the prescription in a dosage ten times higher than the required one, all set and ready to administer. While the second nurse was administering the medicine, the baby passed away. The Colorado Board of Nursing instigated punitive measures against the second and third nurses, and the grand jury accused the three nurses of illegitimately negligent homicide, but the pharmacist was spared.
Response
The emotions evoked as one deems the Colorado Board of Nursing case encompasses unfairness in the failure to indict the pharmacist despite apparently being the one that misconstrued the doctor’s prescription. Furthermore, no clarification was given as to why the pharmacist was not indicted. It also appears questionable as to how the medication prepared by the pharmacist was not confirmed prior to administering it to the baby. Nonetheless, the courts should not take into deliberation the reality that the nurses’ mistake happened since they wanted to evade causing the baby needless pain as they failed to verify the dosage of the prepared medication. The loss of life, in this case, is reasonable ground for indictment with the purpose of curbing the vice (Cronenwett et al., 2011).
Other occupations
Another occupation where the consequences of unintended errors have enormous legal repercussions is building and construction. For instance, design failures or lapses in site assessment could lead to improper distribution of the weight of the house on the foundation and poor quality joists, which could result in collapsing of buildings, sinking, or even deaths. Additionally, in dietetics, the administration of therapeutic diet to the wrong patient or at the incorrect time could cause harm thus leading to litigation against the dietitian involved (Cronenwett et al., 2011).
How the Nursing Profession Ought to Respond
Concerning the terrifying new legal threat, the nursing profession should respond by emphasizing on the impact of medication error and conduct annual training for all practicing nurses, other health professionals, and all stakeholders. This will demonstrate the necessity of preventing medication errors and avoid indictment occurrences, which negatively influences the profession (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2013). Though there is significant pressure from the public and the legal coordination to charge and punish nurses that make medication error, filing cases against the health professionals engaged in medication error is indisputably flagrant and might just act as a means of concealing the inaccuracies.
Sections of the State Nurse Practice Act violated
The nurses violated Section 12-38.1-110.5 of the Colorado Nurse Practice Act. Subsection 3 (a) of this section states that certified nurses should confirm that any prepared medication is appropriate and in accordance with the physician’s order prior to its administration (Cronenwett et al., 2011).
Conclusion
Some of the impacts of medication errors are harm to the patient and, in extreme cases, death. Impacts such as loss of life denote reasonable grounds for the accusation with the purpose of reducing medication error. Apart from nursing, occupations such as dietetics and building and construction experience legal consequences emanating from unintended errors. The nursing profession should underscore the impact of medication errors and train all stakeholders as a means of eliminating the frailty.
References
Burkhardt, M., & Nathaniel, A. (2013). Ethics and issues in contemporary nursing (4th ed.). New York: Delmar Cengage Learning.
Calfee, B. E, & Plum, S. D. (1997). Nurses indicted: Three Denver nurses face prison in a case that bodes ill for the profession. Web.
Cronenwett, L., Dracup, K., Grey, M., McCauley, L., Meleis, A., & Salmon, M. (2011). The doctor of nursing practice: A national workforce perspective. Nursing Outlook, 59(1), 9-17.