The nurse gives an inaccurate dose of medication to a patient. After a

QUESTION

The nurse gives an inaccurate dose of medication to a patient. After assessment of the patient, the nurse completes an incident report.

The nurse notifies the nursing supervisor of the medication error and calls the physician to report the occurrence. The nurse who administered the inaccurate medication understands that:

a. The error will result in suspension.
b. An incident report is optional for an event that does not result in injury.
c. The error will be documented in her personnel file.
d. Risk management programs are not designed to assign blame.

ANSWER:

ANS: D
QM stresses improving the system, and the detection of staff errors is not stressed. If errors occur, reeducation of staff is emphasized rather than imposition of punitive measures such as disciplinary action or blaming.