Assignment Directions
**Please note that plagiarism above 20% found in CopyLeaks will result in a 0 on the paper. You must paraphrase information in your own words and cite in text to give credit to the source. You may also use a limited number of direct quotes (3 total) in quotation marks and cite in text as well to give credit to the source.
For this assignment you will work independently to write a 2-3 page paper on “Medication Errors in American Society” in APA format. The research must be focused on medication errors (not medical errors in general) and must use data from the United States, not other countries. Choose a specific type of medication error to focus on to focus your research. Examples include, but are not limited to:
Insulin errors
Heparin errors
Pediatric medication errors
Medication errors in long term care
Errors in the 6 rights of medication administration (focus on right drug errors, right dose errors, right patient errors, etc.)
Emergency department medication errors
Surgical or post operative care medication errors
You must use at least two references. One reference should be a written source (such as a journal article or text) and one should be a scholarly (reputable) web based source. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source for this (or any) scholarly nursing paper.
Examples of written sources include nursing journals such as Nursing Made Incredibly Easy or American Journal of Nursing. You may access your written source using an online database. Textbooks are also good resources.
Here are some suggestions for web based sources, however, you are not limited to just these sites. If you have questions about whether or not your site qualifies as a scholarly site, please check with Chuchie or Amanda.
National Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (categorizes med errors)
FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices)
The Joint Commission
Washington State Nursing Commission
National Coordinating Council (NCC) for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (MERP) (look up as NCCMERP)
Content Portion: It is helpful to use the following section headings in your paper as a way to make sure you have all of the required elements in your paper. Note: section headings are required in correct APA format.
Introduction – State the purpose of the paper – In the first paragraph or two of the paper, inform the reader of what you will be writing about. This section should provide both an introduction to the topic in general and to the paper specifically (Please note that in APA format, you do not use Introduction as a section heading!)
Overview of Topic – Provide an overview of the type of medication errors you will be focusing on. Describe how they occur, why they are significant, and how they impact patients.
Statistics – Numbers of errors made in the last few years. Some statistics may be related to medication errors in general, but be sure that you include some statistics related to the type of error you have chosen to write about. How prevalent are medication errors? How prevalent are these types? How many have resulted in near misses or deaths?
Nursing Implications – What practices have been put in place to reduce these types of medication errors? Did they work? Why or why not? When possible, focus this section on practices that relate directly to the type of medication errors you have chosen to focus on. If you can’t find information with this focus, then say so and provide a description and evaluation of general practices to prevent medication errors.
My Plan – What will you do in your practice to reduce these types of medication errors? It is a good idea to describe how the practices described in the previous section might be incorporated into your own practice (It is okay to use “I” in this section.)
Summary of paper – Summarize the important points you shared in the paper. Do not include any new information in this section.
Writing Skills/APA Portion: APA Format Components
Paper must have a separate title page in the correct APA format.
Must be in 12 pt Times New Roman Font.
Margins must be 1 inch on all sides.
Must double spaced.
Must be left aligned. (Do not use justified or centered margins.)
Refer to APA guidelines for section heading formats
Paper must include in-text citations in proper APA format.
Reference list may only include works that were cited in the body of the paper!!!
Reference list must be in correct APA form.
Amanda Quintana is your best resource for APA format but there other resources available.
Grammar:
Your paper will also be graded on grammar, spelling, and over-all presentation. Your work should demonstrate college level writing skills.
This assignment must submitted online by uploading your completed document to Canvas (WORD or PDF preferred). I will not accept e-mailed submissions.
