Dr. Ann Mayo

The Power and Force to Address Medication Errors

Despite the efforts of healthcare providers, medical error rates remain too high. The ever-evolving workplace can create barriers safely administrating medications. Current evidence on medication errors and for keeping patients safe from medication errors will be presented. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At completion of this session, the participant will be able to:

• Identify the different types and causes of medication errors
• Determine the effect of nurse, patient, and system factors on the commission and reporting of medication errors. 
• List evidence-based suggestions for preventing medication errors

Ann M. Mayo, RN, DNSC, FAAN is currently a professor of nursing at the University of San Diego. She has worked as a staff RN in medical and adult intensive care units, a patient educator, a clinical nurse specialist, and a nursing researcher for Kaiser Foundation Hospital San Diego, Southern California Region and National Program.  In her clinical program of research she studies the functional status of older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and the related dementias. Her health services research has included examining nurses’ perceptions of medication errors. The 2004 seminal Journal of Nursing Care Quality article, published on this research topic, was authored by Dr. Mayo and Denise Duncan. Winning a research Lippincott journal award, it remains a recommended article by the Institute for Health Care Improvement. The study has been replicated by researchers in over 30 countries around the world and is the number one Google search scholarly article on the topic with over 500 citations in other publications.