Abstract:

Various existing literatures on healthcare are of the opinion that ‘health is wealth’ and that living in good health is the desire of everybody. However, regular occurrences of medical errors in various health facilities have posed a major challenge to the healthcare system in Nigeria. This paper therefore aims at: working towards forestalling medical errors among the upcoming nurses that are presently students, addressing the existing challenges of medical error so that the public will once again repose their confidence in medical personnel and to suggest ways of repositioning the status of nursing profession to its enviable position. The paper employs both primary and secondary sources of data collection. The primary source involves oral interview with people that have experienced medical errors; either directly or indirectly. The secondary source contains prints and internet materials. Findings revealed that medical errors have caused a lot of damages to their victims; takes longer period of treatment, incurs additional cost and psychological trauma to patients. To forestall medical errors among student nurses in Nigeria, the paper recommends recruitment of qualified nurses who will provide mentorship roles to nurses on training; there must be reduction in workload and overtime on both practicing and student nurses while on clinical training; there must be clarification of physician’s orders given to both student and registered nurses and nurses themselves must adhere strictly to their Nightingale’s Pledge by being alive to their responsibilities. The paper concludes that if the following recommendations are followed, medical errors will be forestalled among the Nigerian student nurses and will be reduced to the barest minimum among the registered nurses.