What are the most common types of nursing errors?

When you find yourself in the hospital, you expect that you’ll receive professional care from both doctors and nurses. Unfortunately, there are times when human error results in harm to patients. Because Florida nurses are busy and work with numerous patients on each shift, they are more likely to make mistakes that could have life-changing results.

Understanding what types of nursing errors commonly occur may help you prevent an injury from happening to yourself or to a loved one. Here are four of the most common mistakes nurses make.

1. Medication errors

A dosage mixup can be the difference between life and death for hospital patients. In a hospital setting, nurses have to administer medications to multiple patients, and there are instances when they may give the wrong patient the wrong medication or the right patient the wrong dosage, resulting in significant harm.

2. Infections

Nurses must practice sanitation techniques that avoid the risk of infection, but lackadaisical hygiene can result in infections after surgical procedures or even just during basic medical care.

3. Patient falls

It is the responsibility of nurses to move patients, either to help with bathroom tasks or to aid in healing. However, falls caused by nurses assisting with moves can happen and can cause worse injuries than what the patient was in the hospital for initially.

4. Miscommunication

Doctors and nurses have to communicate regularly and effectively in order to provide quality patient care. When this communication breaks down, the patients are those who pay the price, since it may result in medication errors, incorrect treatments or serious injury.