Nurses play a crucial role in the care that patients receive. In hospitals and similar inpatient facilities, nurses dispense medications and perform treatments for patients. In an office setting, nurses often gather the information that influences the diagnosis a doctor reaches or the treatment that they recommend. Nurses can be crucial advocates for patients and can improve their quality of life during their care.
Unfortunately, the demands on medical professionals have never been higher. They have to juggle an oppressive roster of patients, making it difficult for them to remember the details about individuals. They may have to perform numerous secondary tasks in addition to providing patient support and care.
Pressure on nurses to multitask and to stay in contact with their family while working long shifts might mean that distraction compromises the care that you or your loved ones receive.
Research shows that nursing distractions can be dangerous
Collecting, analyzing and recording information about patients is an important part of what nurses do. If a distraction occurs in the middle of that process, nurses might forget details that would have a major impact on the outcome of a patient’s case.
Carefully focusing on tasks is also crucial to ensure that each patient receives the appropriate care. A nurse responding to an inquiry from another patient might hand the wrong medication to someone. Seemingly little mistakes can have a drastic impact on someone’s health and recovery.
Getting the wrong medication might mean that one’s treatment regimen isn’t successful. It might mean that someone has a dangerous reaction to a medication that interacts with other drugs or that they are allergic to. Unfortunately, the distractions that affect nurses seem to have increased in recent years rather than decreased.
Medical malpractice could affect you for years
Medical professionals making distraction-related mistakes can cause tragic circumstances for their patients. Unsuccessful treatments, bad bodily reactions and poor outcomes are all possible when mistakes affect diagnosis or treatment.
If you believe that a distracted nurse directly contributed to your poor medical outcome or to an incident that affected a member of your family, the situation may justify a medical malpractice claim. Seeking compensation for medical malpractice might lead to insurance payments or even a civil lawsuit to compensate patients hurt by a distracted medical professional.