In 2006, a Wisconsin nurse administered the incorrect medication to a 16-year old girl who was in labor. The medication killed the girl almost instantly. The nurse had been working in the field for 15 years and was described as very competent. Following this incident, it was determined that the medication was labeled incorrectly. The nurse was subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter.
In reading about the 6 Rights of Drug Administration, I couldn’t help but think of this case and so many other cases with similar circumstances. Any system is going to have flaws as humans are the ones designing the system and entering the data into the system. The 6 Rights can be adhered to, which will greatly reduce these types of occurrences, but they won’t be eliminated.
The charges against the nurse were dropped, but it’s something that she will have to live with for the rest of her life…that’s more punishment than any court could have imposed on her.
tags
forensic nursing chronicles
forensic nursing
forensic nursing theories
forensic nursing diagnosis
medication errors
Death InvestigationForensic Toxicology
Tags: Death Investigation, Forensic Nursing Chronicles, Forensic Toxicology, Medication Errors
Forensic Nursing Chronicles 