Preventing sentinel events caused by family members.
As long as there are human beings involved in health care, there will be errors. Sometimes these errors are minor, and some can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. At times, the errors are caused by family members who mean well, but may cause further problems and possibly death. This article discusses as few case studies, potential errors, and strategies critical-care nurses can use to prevent these errors.
University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA. ygwall@uncg.edu
Yolanda
Y
Wall
Donald D
DD
Kautz
D015984:Causality; D003142:Communication; D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology