Nursing Mistakes Are Medical Malpractice

Nurses are the front line of healthcare providers.  They usually see and treat patients before doctors even meet the patient.  Nurses are available in all specialities and practice areas of medicine.  They are needed to help doctors.

But there can be a lot of mistakes that nurses make which result in medical malpractice.  One of the most common mistakes by a nurse which constitutes medical malpractice is miscommunication.  When nurses fail to communicate with doctors and other staff, it can result in serious personal injuries or medical malpractice.

Other common mistakes by nurses include prescription errors or medication mistakes.  This can be giving the wrong dose, the wrong medication, or giving the medication to the wrong person entirely.  This can result in serious injuries and even kill patients, particularly very sick or elderly patients.

Failing to check IVs or clean injection sites or IV sites is another common error.  This may be less common, but an infection can result in very serious and permanent damage.  Infections which are not caught can result in sepsis which is life-threatening.

Nurses are also responsible for patient care such as checking for, preventing, and treating pressure sores.  These are sores which occur due to the pressure of the bed springs on a bed against a patient.  This constant pressure can actually break down a patient’s skin and tissue.  Pressure sores are easy to avoid by having patients shift weight and move around to release the pressure, but once a pressure sore occurs, they can be very difficult to treat.