Week 3 Discussion: Healthcare Errors
Follow these guidelines when completing each component of the Collaboration Café.
Contact your course faculty if you have questions.
Include the following sections:
Application of Course Knowledge: Answer all questions/criteria with explanations and
detail.
1. Do you recommend criminalizing healthcare errors as an effective approach to
holding healthcare providers accountable for their mistakes? Why or why not?
2. How can healthcare providers balance the goal of high-quality care with the
potential risks and consequences of errors?
3. Are current legal and regulatory frameworks adequate to address healthcare
errors? If not, what changes are necessary to ensure the regulations best serve
clients and providers?
Hello class and Professor,
I do not recommend criminalizing healthcare errors as an effective approach to holding
healthcare providers accountable for their mistakes. Nurses are oftentimes the scapegoat for
every issue that arises in healthcare. We wear many hats while working including, but not
limited to, being a patient educator, medication administrator, phlebotomist, and even being a
plumber. Patients, doctors, and other hospital staff expect the most of nurses while we hold the
responsibility of being the last safety net for the patient. If the doctor prescribes the wrong
medication and the pharmacist approves it, the nurse is still held responsible for not questioning
the order. Nurses hold an extremely large responsibility while also being expected to ensure all
the small details are taken care of.
Balancing the goal of high-quality care with the potential risks and consequences of error is no
easy feat in healthcare. One strategy would be implementing evidence- based practices to
emphasize and implement patient safety. This will improve consistency with the care that
patients receive coupled with open communication of areas of improvement or errors.
Follow these guidelines when completing each component of the Collaboration Café.
Contact your course faculty if you have questions.
Include the following sections:
Application of Course Knowledge: Answer all questions/criteria with explanations and
detail.
1. Do you recommend criminalizing healthcare errors as an effective approach to
holding healthcare providers accountable for their mistakes? Why or why not?
2. How can healthcare providers balance the goal of high-quality care with the
potential risks and consequences of errors?
3. Are current legal and regulatory frameworks adequate to address healthcare
errors? If not, what changes are necessary to ensure the regulations best serve
clients and providers?
Hello class and Professor,
I do not recommend criminalizing healthcare errors as an effective approach to holding
healthcare providers accountable for their mistakes. Nurses are oftentimes the scapegoat for
every issue that arises in healthcare. We wear many hats while working including, but not
limited to, being a patient educator, medication administrator, phlebotomist, and even being a
plumber. Patients, doctors, and other hospital staff expect the most of nurses while we hold the
responsibility of being the last safety net for the patient. If the doctor prescribes the wrong
medication and the pharmacist approves it, the nurse is still held responsible for not questioning
the order. Nurses hold an extremely large responsibility while also being expected to ensure all
the small details are taken care of.
Balancing the goal of high-quality care with the potential risks and consequences of error is no
easy feat in healthcare. One strategy would be implementing evidence- based practices to
emphasize and implement patient safety. This will improve consistency with the care that
patients receive coupled with open communication of areas of improvement or errors.
