A nurse has committed a serious medication error and has reported the error to the hospital's adverse medication error hotline as well as to the unit manager. The manager is a firm believer in developing critical thinking skills

Question

From this standpoint, what action by the manager would best nurture this ability in the nurse who made the error?
a. Have the nurse present an in-service related to the cause of the error.
b. Instruct the nurse to write a paper on how to avoid this type of error.
c. Let the nurse work with more experienced nurses when giving medications.
d. Send the nurse to refresher courses on medication administration.

Answer 1

ANS: A
Nurturing critical thinking skills is done in part by turning errors into learning opportunities. If the nurse presents an in-service on the cause and prevention of the type of error committed, not only will the nurse learn something but many others nurses on the unit will learn from it to. This is the best example of developing critical thinking skills. This option would allow the nurse to learn from the mistake, which is a method of developing critical thinking skills, but the paper would benefit only the nurse, so this option is not the best choice. Letting the nurse work with more experienced nurses might be a good option in a very limited setting, for example, if the nurse is relatively new and the manager discovers a deficiency in the nurse's orientation or training on giving medications in that system. Otherwise, this option would not really be beneficial. Sending the nurse to refresher courses might be a solution, but it is directed at the nurse's learning, not critical thinking. The nurse might feel resentful at having to attend such classes, but even if they were helpful, only this one nurse is learning. Going to generic classes also does not address the specific reason this error occurred, and thus might be irrelevant. Critical thinking and learning can be enhanced by a presentation to the staff on the causes of the error.