Nursing Star

Medication errors are a leading cause of iatrogenic injury. According to the Institute of Medicine, hospitalized patients are subject to at least 1 medication error per day. Administration errors account for approximately 1/3 of total medication errors, thus nurses must carefully evaluate all medications before administration. A shining example of medication administration safety is MUSC's Elizabeth Finch, RN from 7A, Children's Hospital. She was unfamiliar with a medication, so she looked it up and discovered the recommendations for IV administration were ambiguous. She took the extra effort to consult 4 more sources before she felt comfortable administering the medication. See Elizabeth and her coworkers here, receiving the August Safety Star award.

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