Being a medical professional can be difficult at times. The pace of a normal work day can be very fast, the clients may have a lot of serious health issues, and you are expected to be able to handle unexpected crises and emergencies. In addition, there is another   level of stress that is always looming in the background: the possibility of making a mistake, of committing a medical error.

Of course, we are all human so mistakes are inevitable. And making a mistake on the job is stressful for anyone.  However, when you are working as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) a mistake can have very serious consequences. A mistake could cause irreversible harm to a patient and irreparable damage to your career. Some mistakes are called medical errors, and medical errors can be serious.

In the course of your career as a CNA you will make medical errors. It would be impossible not to do so. But there are definitely ways to avoid medical errors, there are ways to make sure that you learn from the ones you do make, and there are ways to prevent medical error from happening in the first place.

OBJECTIVES

When the student has finished this module, he/she will be able to:

1. Identify a definition of a medical error.
2. Identify an incorrect definition of a medical error.
3. Identify the four causes of medical errors.
4. Identify the basic cause of medical errors.
5. Identify the most important rule of good communication.
6. Identify a definition of poor judgment.
7. Identify a definition of the basic level of knowledge you need a CNA.
8. Identify two ways to improve judgment.
9. Identify two ways of dealing with stress.
10. Identify the correct response to a medical error.