Reference no: EM133644376

Question 

After reading about the registered nurse from Tennessee that made a medical mistake that resulted in loss of life, lets reflect and discuss this from a couple perspectives. Before we do, here are some facts in this case that may be helpful to know. The nurse bypassed a number of "barriers" in place to prevent the very mistake she made including visual alerts on the medication vial, electronic alerts that she had to physically override (there were two) and the standard of care which requires verification of medications when drawing up the medication and at the time of administration to the patient. There were other errors involved that led to this unfortunate event but we will focus on those listed. It should also be mentioned that she was very busy, a float nurse on that unit and didn't have any previous mistakes on her record. The patient was afraid to have the study and was anxious about going into the MRI machine. The med that was order (Versed) was meant to help her relax and in most healthcare systems, the patient is required to be observed after administration, but not at this hospital. The paralytic drug she was given left.