A nurse is using incident reports with a group of newly licensed nurses. The nurse should include in the discussion that which of the following situations requires completion of an incident report?
Explanation & Rationale
Rationale: A. A nurse finds medication on the client’s bedside table upon entering the room: While this is a safety concern, it may not necessarily require an incident report unless it resulted in harm or was due to a medication error. It should be documented and investigated, but may not meet the threshold for a formal report depending on facility policy. B. A client's MAR indicates the 0800 dose of furosemide 20 mg was administered at 0500: This represents a medication administration error—giving the drug significantly earlier than prescribed. Administering time-sensitive medications outside the scheduled time can affect patient safety and should be reported using an incident report for evaluation and prevention. C. A client's MAR indicates the 0800 dose of morphine was withheld because the client refused to take the medication: Client refusal of medication is not an error and does not require an incident report. It should be documented in the medical record along with any related assessments or follow-up, but it is not a reportable incident. D. A nurse finds a secondary infusion bag of an antibiotic that finished infusing 1 hr ago hanging at the client’s bedside: This situation suggests a delay in removing the IV bag, which is a minor deviation from ideal practice but typically does not require an incident report unless there was harm, contamination, or risk of adverse outcome.