| Description |
This constructivist grounded-theory study was conducted to explore the emotional response to and recovery process following a medical error causing harm to a patient. The study participants were 37 registered nurses (30 women and 7 men), and unstructured interviews provided rich, detailed data. Through an inductive analysis of these errors, a taxonomy of errors is proposed. The Circumstance of Error Model was developed, and five distinct error circumstances were identified: accidental, unanticipated, distracted, unrecognized/unknown, and external. By linking the circumstances of error types with the recovery process, new insights were obtained. These insights resulted in a theory, reestablishing competency, that helped to inform a better understanding of the recovery process of the nurse following an error causing harm to a patient. Reestablishing Competency consisted of a trajectory of five stages: discovering the error, responding emotionally, dissecting the error, losing self-esteem, and moving past the error. Reestablishing Competency contributes a basic social process of nurse recovery following a medical error. Nurses had a need to reestablish their personal integrity, confidence, and trust in themselves following an error. They were courageous and showed responsibility as they reported errors. This study also provided insight into nurses who concealed errors, felt wrongly blamed, and/or were unable to move past the error. |
