Prevention of Medical Errors for Nurses

Reduce Risk, Improve Outcomes: A Clinical Approach to Preventing Medical Errors

This comprehensive course meets the Florida Board of Nursing’s mandatory continuing education requirement and addresses both root causes and practical interventions related to medication errors, documentation lapses, communication failures, and system-based risks. Through detailed analysis of real-world case studies and current best practices, participants will gain the knowledge necessary to contribute to a culture of safety, improve interdisciplinary collaboration, and advocate for error-reducing protocols.

Upon successful completion, participants will earn 2 Continuing Education (CE) Credit Hours, automatically reported to CE Broker, while fulfilling state requirements and enhancing their commitment to safe, high-quality care.

This course offers a multidisciplinary approach to medical error prevention with emphasis on nurse-specific responsibilities. Topics include:

• Types and Causes of Medical Errors: Exploring active vs. latent errors, cognitive biases, and human/system failures.
• High-Risk Areas in Nursing Practice: Focused review of medication administration, hand-offs, documentation, and infection control.
• Root Cause Analysis and Reporting: Understanding incident analysis, near-miss reporting, and sentinel event protocols.
• Evidence-Based Prevention Strategies: Applying tools such as SBAR, medication reconciliation, bar-code scanning, and standardized protocols.
• Legal and Ethical Responsibilities: Duty of care, informed consent, documentation standards, and mandatory reporting laws.
• Team Communication and Culture of Safety: Strategies for speaking up, reducing hierarchy-based communication gaps, and building collaborative environments.
• Case Studies and Sentinel Event Reviews: Examination of high-profile incidents with emphasis on what went wrong and how it could have been prevented.

Completion Requirements:

To receive full credit for this CE activity, participants must:

• Be registered for the course.
• Review all course material.
• Complete the course post-test with a score of 70% or higher.
• Submit a course evaluation survey

Interactive components such as reflective questions or case-based learning exercises may be included to reinforce comprehension and clinical application.

Important Disclosures:

• Conflict of Interest: Course planners and instructors have disclosed no relevant financial or personal conflicts of interest.
• Commercial Support: No funding or sponsorship has been received from any commercial entities.
• Non-Endorsement: Course accreditation does not imply endorsement of any specific commercial product or company. 
• Off-Label Use: This course does not contain content related to unapproved or off-label use of medical products.