How can you mitigate the common mistakes made by entry-level nurses?

The nurses constitute a significant proportion of all the healthcare professionals in the USA. Due to several reasons, including the aging baby boomer generation, the retiring workforce, and the increasing turnover rate among nurses, the demand for nurses is increasing year on year. As per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for nurses is projected to increase by 6% over the next five years. Considering the demand, facilities hire nurses in large numbers, and most entry-level hired nurses with less experience might need to be proficient in the field. While a steep learning curve is expected, there are some cases where errors can have severe consequences for patient safety and the quality of care. Understanding and preventing entry-level nurses’ typical mistakes can significantly improve patient outcomes and the facility’s operations. 

Entry-level nurse staffing: common mistakes and their solutions 

Even minor missteps can adversely affect the overall well-being of the patient. This can also hamper the reputation of your facility. It is impractical to eliminate all risks, yet some precautions can be taken to reduce the likelihood of errors. 

• Medication error

This is the most prevalent misstep in a healthcare setting. Medication errors can include dispensing the wrong medicine, providing incorrect dosages to patients, or not checking allergies before administering a drug. If the patient’s condition worsens, this can bring legal penalties for the facility. 

Solution: 

• Utilize a second staff who might be an allied health professional to validate the procedures such as dosage and medicine administration.
• When you hire nurses, provide them with a checklist to efficiently manage the process. This can help reduce such errors by ensuring that all the essential steps are correctly followed.

• Inadequate patient assessment

Proper patient assessment is essential to support the accurate diagnosis of a patient’s condition. A detailed patient inspection and patient history not only help identify the symptoms but also aid in designing treatment strategies and drug administration. Inadequate assessments can often lead to missed or delayed interventions.

Solution:

• Use checklists and standardized tools to evaluate the patient’s condition extensively.
• Make sure that the assessment is validated by an experienced nurse or a specialist in the domain. 

• Incomplete or incorrect patient records

Patient records include essential information about the patient, including his/her examination details, symptoms, current status, medication intake, etc. This would be highly beneficial when nurses work different shifts and must hand over patient information to the staff concerned with duty. Incorrect or incomplete records can lead to miscommunication, inadequate care, misinterpreting patient symptoms, and potential legal issues. 

Solution:

• Instead of paper documentation, consider using electronic health records to update patient information for easy access.
• Review the documentation at regular intervals to verify the correctness of the details.

• Non-adherence to established safety protocols

Even though the entry-level nurses you hire are trained to work in a healthcare setting, the facility is responsible for establishing safety protocols and treatment procedures to minimize errors.

Solution:

• The entry-level nurses can be provided with a detailed orientation on the designated protocols for infection control best practices, safety standards, and treatment approaches.
• Establish points of contact for entry-level nurses to contact with any questions or concerns rather than leaving them to make assumptions about procedures.

• Poor communication skills

Effective communication is crucial in interacting with patients and their caregivers and educating them about their conditions. Lack of efficient communication and inability to convey the seriousness of an illness to the patient can cause trouble in the treatment provided. Also, nurses should display empathy and active listening skills to provide proper patient care. 

Solution:

• When you hire a nurse, assess their communication and active listening skills during the interview process to ensure they can clearly communicate with the patients. 
• Discourage the usage of complex medical terms while communicating with patients and their families to prevent misunderstandings.