Medication Errors and the Rights of Administration
Safe medication administration relies on the rights of medication administration and honest error reporting. Nurses must prevent, recognise, and report medication errors.
Practice Medication Errors with PassMate AI →Key Points to Know
What you must know about Medication Errors
The core rights: right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time, right documentation.
Additional rights include right reason, right response, and the patient’s right to refuse.
Check the patient’s identity using at least two identifiers before administration.
If an error occurs, assess the patient FIRST, then report and document it honestly.
Never document a medication as given before it is actually administered.
A near-miss should also be reported to improve system safety.
NMCN Exam Tips
How this topic appears in the NMCN exam
After a medication error, the FIRST action is to assess/monitor the patient.
Memorise the classic "five/six rights" of medication administration.
Honest incident reporting is expected — never conceal an error.
Two patient identifiers are required before giving any drug.
Practice Question
Test yourself
A nurse realises she has administered the wrong dose of a medication to a patient. What is the FIRST action she should take?
Explanation
Patient safety comes first. After a medication error, the nurse must immediately assess and monitor the patient for adverse effects, then notify the physician, and afterwards complete honest documentation and an incident report.
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