Sample Answer 2 for NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 3 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Individual patients and groups visit health care facilities looking forward to comprehensive care and continuous support from health professionals. A holistic assessment of health issues, appropriate treatment, and healthy patient-provider relationships characterize such care. Despite multiple efforts to achieve this goal, numerous issues that hamper patient safety and care quality occur at different care points. Accordingly, health care professionals and leaders should explore these issues and their implications and implement sustainable, evidence-based solutions. Evidence-based solutions are informed by current research to ensure they are valid (Alrabadi et al., 2021). The purpose of this paper is to analyze a current issue in health care, including a proposed solution and possible ethical implications.

Scholarly Information Explaining the Health Care Issue

Medication errors are a significant issue whose occurrence threatens patient safety immensely. Their prevalence should be a sincere concern for health professionals who envision safe workplaces for patients and care providers. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), approximately 100,000 cases of suspected medical errors are reported annually. The FDA (2019) further reported that medication errors have profound implications including disability, birth defects, and deaths. From personal experiences and observations, medication errors are preventable occurrences requiring multi-dimensional interventions to control effectively. They are preventable since they often occur due to human error, such as a lack of medication confirmation and failure to administer the correct dosage (Tariq et al., 2023). A multi-dimensional approach is necessary due to the differences in causes and the scope of the issue.

For effective outcomes, patients, health care professionals, and organizational leaders should play their individual roles effectively. For instance, leaders should provide appropriate education and technology for preventing medication errors as health professionals adopt them accordingly (Ahsani-Estahbanati et al., 2022; Rodziewicz et al., 2023). Patients should be adequately educated on the potential of medication errors, their prevention, and the importance of speaking up as members of the broader health care team. They should also provide health care professionals with adequate information about their health, current medications, and possible drug reactions to guide health professionals in the medication administration process.

The above information helps to explain medication errors from multiple perspectives, allowing the issue to be understood comprehensively. For instance, describing its prevalence underlines why it is a severe issue requiring maximum attention in health care settings. Besides, presenting it as a preventable health risk illustrates how human failure leads to its occurrence. The other information area is the need for a multifaceted approach involving different individuals and teams. Overall, this information can guide health care professionals and leaders to focus on the appropriate areas when formulating and implementing measures to prevent medication errors.

Analysis of the Issue

Definition

Although there is no standard definition of medication errors, various researchers, scholars, and organizations have provided several definitions to demonstrate what the issue entails. For instance, Rasool et al. (2020) defined a medication error as a failure in drug therapy, resulting in patient harm. Such harm includes health complications and disability. Tariq et al. (2023) expanded this definition by describing a medication error as a preventable event leading to inappropriate medication use. In any case, patient harm is inevitable, and its magnitude varies with the type of medication inappropriately used, the dosage, and the patient’s present health status.

Those Involved

Medication errors can occur in all settings where medication use is involved. Therefore, physicians, nurses, pharmacists could be involved in causing a medication error. Patients receiving inpatient or outpatient care can be victims of medication errors in varying magnitudes. Nursing research demonstrates that medication errors can occur at any stage of the medication process. These stages include medication prescription, transcription, dispensation, and administration (Schroers et al., 2021; Manias et al., 2020). Most errors are encountered during medication administration, hence increased attention in this area. Wondmieneh et al. (2020) reported that nurses are the most associated with medication errors since they spend over 40% of their time administering medications. Therefore, supporting them to execute their roles effectively is critical for medication error prevention.

Causes of Medication Errors

Understanding the causes of medication errors is the first step toward their effective control and management. Schroers et al. (2021) grouped the causes into knowledge-based, personal, and contextual factors. The most common knowledge-based cause is the lack of medication administration knowledge, particularly among new nurses. Personal factors include fatigue, while a heavy workload and interruptions dominate the contextual factors. Wondmieneh et al. (2020) reported that nurses’ failure to administer drugs at the scheduled time may cause patients to develop toxicities, hence, complications. Therefore, procedures to facilitate timely medication administration are vital for medication error prevention. Other causes include inappropriate prescribing and medication confirmation, a nursing shortage, and the absence of disease surveillance systems (Rasool et al., 2020). Several risk factors also increase the probability of medication error occurrence. They include old age, polypharmacy, and multiple comorbidities (Rasool et al., 2020). The impacts of medication errors vary with the cause, hence the need for an in-depth understanding of their origin and potential interventions.

Potential Solutions for the Issue

Medication errors solutions vary with the settings, causes, and manifestations. If the cause is errors in administrative procedures, interventions focused on improving medication administration should be prioritized. Reducing workload is crucial in settings where fatigue and high workloads cause medication errors (Schroers et al., 2021). The implication is that an in-depth understanding of the cause and potential interventions is crucial before implementing a solution. Common solutions include adopting technologies such as barcode scanning, education to prescribers, medication reconciliations, and appropriate use of electronic systems (Ahsani-Estahbanati et al., 2022; Schepel et al., 2019; Mulac et al., 2021). Each intervention has different outcomes, and effective implementation is essential to achieve the desired result. Barcode medication administration involves automating the verification process and helping nurses adhere to the five rights of medication administration (Mulac et al., 2021). Adopting this technology implies reducing medication administration errors, critical in reducing patient harm. However, barcode administration could be harmful if wrongly implemented due to the possibility of disrupting workflow and increasing workload (Mulac et al., 2021). Therefore, nurses should be appropriately educated on the technology use to optimize implementation results.

Ignoring the issue would have far-reaching implications since medication errors affect different groups of people directly and indirectly. The first group that experiences the adverse effects of medication errors is the patients. Rasool et al. (2020) reported that medication errors increase treatment costs, considering that they are the third leading cause of hospitalization after cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In the United States, medication errors are associated with more deaths than traffic accidents. Among nurses, medication errors intensify emotional and mental distress since they cause second-victim syndrome (Ozeke et al., 2019). The syndrome has similar effects to post-traumatic disorder and hampers nurses’ ability to concentrate on their work and offer patient-centered care. Organizational leaders are also affected due to the increased economic burden and workload and must adopt appropriate systems, policies, and cultures for medication error prevention.

Ethical Principles if Potential Solution was Implemented

Health care professionals should be innately committed to promoting ethical practice in their work settings. Achieving this role requires a commitment to addressing current and emerging issues hampering patient outcomes. To implement barcode medication administration, organizational leaders should be committed to change, supporting evidence-based interventions, and attaining a harmless workplace. For barcode scanning to work effectively, organizations should have functioning hardware to provide the appropriate preventive effect on errors (Mulac et al., 2021). As a result, acquiring the necessary infrastructure is essential for successful implementation. Organizational leaders should further ensure nursing professionals have acquired adequate skills for technology use to prevent user-centered risks. These interventions demonstrate a desire to benefit patients (beneficence) and prevent harm (nonmaleficence).

Ethical practice implies promoting a practice that adheres to the ethical principles of care. These include beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice (Medical Protection, 2023). Implementing barcode administration would align with the objectives of beneficence since it seeks to maximize good for others, particularly patients. Nonmaleficence would also be achieved since it focuses on preventing harm (Girdler et al., 2019). Autonomy involves respecting the patient’s right to self-determination, while justice involves treating patients equally and equitably. In this context, beneficence and nonmaleficence would be the dominant guiding principles when implementing barcode medication administration.

Conclusion

Nurses encounter many issues with profound implications for patient care and health processes. Medication errors are such issues due to their adverse impacts on patients, nurses, and health care systems. As explained in this paper, medication errors increase hospitalizations, treatment costs, and mortality rates. Nurses who commit errors could experience second-victim syndrome. Addressing this issue requires an in-depth understanding of causes and potential solutions. Barcode medication administration prevents errors through drug verification and can be implemented if a health care facility has the proper infrastructure to support it.

References

Ahsani-Estahbanati, E., Sergeevich Gordeev, V., & Doshmangir, L. (2022). Interventions to reduce the incidence of medical error and its financial burden in health care systems: a systematic review of systematic reviews. Frontiers in Medicine, 9, 875426. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.875426

Alrabadi, N., Shawagfeh, S., Haddad, R., Mukattash, T., Abuhammad, S., Al-rabadi, D., … & Al-Faouri, I. (2021). Medication errors: a focus on nursing practice. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 12(1), 78-86. https://doi.org/10.1093/jphsr/rmaa025

FDA. (2019). working to reduce medication errors. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-consumers-and-patients-drugs/working-reduce-medication-errors

Girdler, S. J., Girdler, J. E., Tarpada, S. P., & Morris, M. T. (2019). Nonmaleficence in medical training: Balancing patient care and efficient education. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 4(2), 129–133. https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2018.100

Manias, E., Kusljic, S., & Wu, A. (2020). Interventions to reduce medication errors in adult medical and surgical settings: a systematic review. Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, 11, 204209862096830. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042098620968309

Medical Protection. (2023). The four pillars of medical ethics. https://www.medicalprotection.org/uk/articles/essential-learning-law-and-ethics#:~:text=The%20four%20pillars%20of%20medical%20ethics%20are%20defined%20as%3A,all%20people%20equally%20and%20equitably.

Mulac, A., Mathiesen, L., Taxis, K., & Gerd Granås, A. (2021). Barcode medication administration technology use in hospital practice: a mixed-methods observational study of policy deviations. BMJ Quality & Safety, 30(12), 1021–1030. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2021-013223

Ozeke, O., Ozeke, V., Coskun, O., & Budakoglu, I. I. (2019). Second victims in health care: Current perspectives. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 10, 593–603. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S185912

Rasool, M. F., Rehman, A. U., Imran, I., Abbas, S., Shah, S., Abbas, G., … & Hayat, K. (2020). Risk factors associated with medication errors among patients suffering from chronic disorders. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 531038. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.531038

Rodziewicz, T. L., Houseman, B., & Hipskind, J. E. (2023). Medical error reduction and prevention. National Library of Medicine.

Schepel, L., Aronpuro, K., Kvarnström, K., Holmström, A., Lehtonen, L., Lapatto-Reiniluoto, O., Laaksonen, R., Carlsson, K., & Airaksinen, M. (2019). Strategies for improving medication safety in hospitals: Evolution of clinical pharmacy services. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 15(7), 873-882. DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2019.02.004.

Schroers, G., Ross, J. G., & Moriarty, H. (2021). Nurses’ perceived causes of medication administration errors: a qualitative systematic review. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 47(1), 38-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjq.2020.09.010

Tariq, R. A., Vashisht, R., Sinha, A., & Scherbak, Y. (2023). Medication dispensing errors and prevention. National Library of Medicine.

Wondmieneh, A., Alemu, W., Tadele, N., & Demis, A. (2020). Medication administration errors and contributing factors among nurses: a cross sectional study in tertiary hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. BMC Nursing, 19(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-0397-0

• Write a 4-6 page analysis of a current problem or issue in health care, including a proposed solution and possible ethical implications.

Introduction

In your health care career, you will be confronted with many problems that demand a solution. By using research skills, you can learn what others are doing and saying about similar problems. Then, you can analyze the problem and the people and systems it affects. You can also examine potential solutions and their ramifications. This assessment allows you to practice this approach with a real-world problem.

Instructions

Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. At a minimum, be sure to address each point. In addition, you are encouraged to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

• 1. Describe the health care problem or issue you selected for use in Assessment 2 (from the Assessment Topic Areas media piece) and provide details about it.

• 1. • Explore your chosen topic. For this, you should use the first four steps of the Socratic Problem-Solving Approach to aid your critical thinking. This approach was introduced in Assessment 2.
     • Identify possible causes for the problem or issue.
  2. Use scholarly information to describe and explain the health care problem or issue and identify possible causes for it.

• 1. • Identify at least three scholarly or academic peer-reviewed journal articles about the topic.

• 1. • • You may find the How Do I Find Peer-Reviewed Articles? library guide helpful in locating appropriate references.
       • You may use articles you found while working on Assessment 2 or you may search the Capella library for other articles.
       • You may find the applicable Undergraduate Library Research Guide helpful in your search.
     • Review the Think Critically About Source Quality to help you complete the following:

• 1. • • Assess the credibility of the information sources.
       • Assess the relevance of the information sources.
  2. Analyze the health care problem or issue.

• 1. • Describe the setting or context for the problem or issue.
     • Describe why the problem or issue is important to you.
     • Identify groups of people affected by the problem or issue.
     • Provide examples that support your analysis of the problem or issue.
  2. Discuss potential solutions for the health care problem or issue.

• 1. • Describe what would be required to implement a solution.
     • Describe potential consequences of ignoring the problem or issue.
     • Provide the pros and cons for one of the solutions you are proposing.
  2. Explain the ethical principles (Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, and Justice) if potential solution was implemented.

• 1. • Describe what would be necessary to implement the proposed solution.
     • Explain the ethical principles that need to be considered (Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, and Justice) if the potential solution was implemented.
     • Provide examples from the literature to support the points you are making.

Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like:

• • Assessment 3 Example [PDF].

Additional Requirements

Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:

• • Length: 4–6 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title page and reference page.
  • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
  • APA tutorial: Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] for guidance.
  • Written communication: Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
  • Using outside sources: Integrate information from outside sources into academic writing by appropriately quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, following APA style.
  • References: Integrate information from outside sources to include at least three scholarly or academic peer-reviewed journal articles and three in-text citations within the paper.
  • APA format: Follow current APA guidelines for in-text citations of outside sources in the body of your paper and also on the reference page.

Organize your paper using the following structure and headings:

• • Title page. A separate page.
  • Introduction. A brief one-paragraph statement about the purpose of the paper.
  • Elements of the problem/issue. Identify the elements of the problem or issue or question.
  • Analysis. Analyze, define, and frame the problem or issue.
  • Considering options. Consider solutions, responses, or answers.
  • Solution. Choose a solution, response, or answer.
  • Ethical implications. Ethical implications of implementing the solution.
  • Implementation. Implementation of the potential solution.
  • Conclusion. One paragraph.

Competencies Measured:

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• • Competency 1: Apply information literacy and library research skills to obtain scholarly information in the field of health care.

• • • Use scholarly information to describe and explain a health care problem or issue and identify possible causes for it.
  • Competency 2: Apply scholarly information through critical thinking to solve problems in the field of health care.

• • • Analyze a health care problem or issue by describing the context, explaining why it is important and identifying populations affected by it.
    • Discuss potential solutions for a health care problem or issue and describe what would be required to implement a solution.
  • Competency 3: Apply ethical principles and academic standards to the study of health care.

• • • Explain the ethical principles (Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, and Justice) if potential solution was implemented
  • Competency 4: Write for a specific audience, in appropriate tone and style, in accordance with Capella’s writing standards.

• • • Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
    • Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.
• SCORING GUIDE

Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.

VIEW SCORING GUIDE

Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue Scoring Guide

CRITERIA	NON-PERFORMANCE	BASIC	PROFICIENT	DISTINGUISHED
Use scholarly information to describe and explain a health care problem or issue and identify possible causes for it.	Does not use scholarly information to describe or explain a health care problem or issue or identify possible causes for it.	Describes a health care problem or issue but does not explain it, or identifies possible causes for a problem or issues but the identification is incomplete or inaccurate.	Uses scholarly information to describe and explain a health care problem or issue and identify possible causes for it.	Uses scholarly information to describe and explain a health care problem or issue and identify possible causes for it, and indicates which causes are the most likely.
Analyze a health care problem or issue by describing the context, explaining why it is important and identifying populations affected by it.	Does not analyze a health care problem or issue by describing the context, explaining why it is important and identifying populations affected by it.	Identifies a health care problem or issue but does not analyze it.	Analyzes a health care problem or issue by describing the context, explaining why it is important and identifying populations affected by it.	Analyzes a health care problem or issue by describing the context, explaining why it is important and identifying populations affected by it, and provides examples that support the analysis.
Discuss potential solutions for a health care problem or issue and describe what would be required to implement a solution.	Does not discuss potential solutions for a health care problem or issue and describe what would be required to implement a solution.	Incompletely or inaccurately discusses potential solutions for a health care problem or issue and what would be required to implement a solution.	Discusses potential solutions for a health care problem or issue and describes what would be required to implement a solution.	Discusses potential solutions for a health care problem or issue, describes what would be required to implement a solution, and describes potential consequences of ignoring the problem or issue.
Explain the ethical principles (Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, and Justice) if potential solution was implemented	Does not mention ethical principles if the potential solution was implemented.	Mentions ethical principles (Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, and Justice) that need to be considered if the potential solution was implemented but does not explain them.	Explains the ethical principles that need to be considered (Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, and Justice) if potential solution was implemented.	Explains the ethical principles that need to be considered if potential solution was implemented and enriches the analysis with examples from the readings.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.	Does not write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.	Writes clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics with some errors and lapses.	Writes clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.	Writes clearly and logically, using evidence to support a central idea, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics and ensures the paper contains supporting examples for the main points.
Write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.	Does not write following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.	Writes following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references with some errors and lapses.	Writes following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references.	Writes following APA style for in-text citations, quotes, and references without errors and uses current reference sources.

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APA Writing Checklist

Use this document as a checklist for each paper you will write throughout your GCU graduate program. Follow specific instructions indicated in the assignment and use this checklist to help ensure correct grammar and APA formatting. Refer to the APA resources available in the GCU Library and Student Success Center.

Read Also: NHS-FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles

☐ APA paper template (located in the Student Success Center/Writing Center) is utilized for the correct format of the paper. APA style is applied, and format is correct throughout.

☐  The title page is present. APA format is applied correctly. There are no errors.

☐ The introduction is present. APA format is applied correctly. There are no errors.

☐ Topic is well defined.

☐ Strong thesis statement is included in the introduction of the paper.

☐ The thesis statement is consistently threaded throughout the paper and included in the conclusion.

☐ Paragraph development: Each paragraph has an introductory statement, two or three sentences as the body of the paragraph, and a transition sentence to facilitate the flow of information. The sections of the main body are organized to reflect the main points of the author. APA format is applied correctly. There are no errors.

☐ All sources are cited. APA style and format are correctly applied and are free from error.

☐ Sources are completely and correctly documented on a References page, as appropriate to assignment and APA style, and format is free of error.

Scholarly Resources: Scholarly resources are written with a focus on a specific subject discipline and usually written by an expert in the same subject field. Scholarly resources are written for an academic audience.

Examples of Scholarly Resources include: Academic journals, books written by experts in a field, and formally published encyclopedias and dictionaries.

Peer-Reviewed Journals: Peer-reviewed journals are evaluated prior to publication by experts in the journal’s subject discipline. This process ensures that the articles published within the journal are academically rigorous and meet the required expectations of an article in that subject discipline.

Empirical Journal Article: This type of scholarly resource is a subset of scholarly articles that reports the original finding of an observational or experimental research study. Common aspects found within an empirical article include: literature review, methodology, results, and discussion.

Adapted from “Evaluating Resources: Defining Scholarly Resources,” located in Research Guides in the GCU Library.

☐ The writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English. Utilize writing resources such as Grammarly, LopesWrite report, and ThinkingStorm to check your writing.