MEDICATION ERRORS BY NURSES AT MEDICAL-SURGICAL DEPARTMENTS OF A SAUDI HOSPITAL

Background: Medication errors have a wide-ranging impact, affecting patients, families, healthcare personnel, hospitals, and even organizations. Medication error consequences range from no noticeable symptoms to death, and they are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients. Many factors have been identified as potential causes of pharmaceutical errors. Nurses are seen as crucial players in the medication administration process, and as such, they may cause or report various types of drug errors at healthcare facilities. Aim: The study aimed to identify the medical-surgical floor nurses’ perception of medication errors at King Saud Medical City (KSMC) in terms of frequency, types, and causes. Methods: This research used a descriptive, cross-sectional design including a convenient sample of 260 nurses working at different medical-surgical departments at KSMC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study utilized the Modified Gladstone scale in addition to the sociodemographic datasheet. The current study adhered to all ethical principles of scientific research. Results: Out of the two hundred sixty participants, 35% of them reported that they had three to four years of experience in medication administration, and 31.2% of them had 5 to 9 years of nursing experience. More than one-third of the participants reported that they didn’t have any medication errors during their course of work. The most frequently reported causes of medication errors were illegible physician’s handwriting, followed by the wrong drug dose prescription, then the nurses’ exhaustion. According to the participants, 14.32 % of the medication errors were reported officially in the hospital using incident reports. About 75% of the participants had considered the six scenarios as situations that require informing the physician, 70.65% of them believed that the scenarios require formal reporting through incident reports, while only 68.08% of them perceived the scenarios as medication errors. Conclusion: Illegible handwriting of physicians, incorrect drug dose prescription, and nursing exhaustion were the most reported reasons of medication errors as revealed by participants; as a result, the management of those issues is crucial to reduce medication errors. Medication errors should be officially documented through incident reports. Because the percentage of reported medication error was low, hospitals must provide an open environment system for medication error reporting that is informative, confidential, and free of a penalty. It is critical to provide continuous education and on-the-job training for nurses in the hospital regarding medication administration