In the event of a medication administration error, which action should you avoid?

• A. Assign blame to the nurse
• B. Document factually in the chart; report per policy; do not assign blame; outline corrective actions
• C. Notify the patient
• D. Complete a medication incident report

Answer: (A)

A nonpunitive, systems-focused approach to medication errors emphasizes learning and prevention rather than singling out a person. Blaming the nurse for an error tends to create fear, deters reporting, and hides underlying problems in processes, communication, or workflow that allowed the mistake to happen. When the focus is on understanding what happened and how to prevent it, safety improves for everyone.

Therefore, you avoid assigning blame to the nurse and instead act to document the event factually in the chart, report it per policy, and outline corrective actions that address root causes. You should also notify the patient about what occurred in an honest, respectful way and complete a medication incident report as part of formal risk management and quality improvement. This approach supports transparency, accountability, and ongoing improvement in patient safety.