Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflection - Essay Example The Gibbs model of reflection divides the process into six stages, namely, the Description phase, where the event or topic is discussed; the feelings phase, where one’s thoughts and feelings about what happened are described; the Evaluation phase, where the positive and negative aspects, the pluses and minuses, good and bad aspects, of the experience or event are discussed; the Analysis phase, where one tries to piece together what the underlying dynamics and causes of the event or situation are, where one tries to grasp the essence of the event; the Conclusion phase, where one wraps up the preceding phases and tries to determine other courses of action that could have been pursued; and the Action Plan phase, where one draws up contingencies and plans of actions in the event of the reoccurrence of the incident or situation (The University of Northampton n.d.; La Trobe University 2011; Education Drop-In Centre 2012). Medication error or drug error is defined as any mistake or e rror in the administering a drug or medication, owing to a number of events, including mistakes in the way the drug was routed when administered, mistakes in the dosage administered, lapses in the prescription and administration of drugs for medical conditions, making use of expired medication, mistimed administration of the medication, and mistakes of ignorance arising out of not knowing what the adverse drug reactions are and what the adverse reactions are when co-administering or mixing different kinds of drugs or medications (Elsevier 2009; US Food and Drug Administration 2013; Hahn 2007; CTVNews.ca Staff 2013). The literature meanwhile traces the causes of medication errors to a number of factors, including that the handwriting in medical prescriptions are poor and its contents cannot be determined with certainty at the time of the reading; mistakes in choosing among drugs that have similar naming; and inadequate data relating to patient histories, sensitivities to certain medi cations, and any allergic reactions to any and all considered medications (Elsevier 2009). The emphasis in the discussions on medication errors is that they can be prevented, and the event itself has led to the misuse of medication or and the harming of the patient who took the medication. Medication error too covers the time when any and all medication is being handled not just by the medical practitioner, but also by the patient taking the medication itself, as well as the general consumer who has access to the medication. Medication error events, moreover, are tied to systems and procedures as well as the products of health care; the communication of the order; the labeling and packaging of the drug; the distributing, dispensing and compounding of a drug product; educating the patient about the drug; and the use and monitoring of the use of the drug by the patient. In all of these aspects there are possibilities for the occurrence or commission of drug error acts on the part of t he involved parties, as discussed above (US Food and Drug Administration 2013). Moreover, the literature notes that there are different rates of medication errors and adverse events associated with different classes and types of drugs, with some drugs, such as insulin and morphine, associated with higher rates of medication errors in their various aspects, including in their administration and in certain high-risk contexts, such as in acute care settings. The literature note