Table 1

Summary of study participants and reported intravenous MAEs

Participant code	Gender	Years since qualification*	Environment at time of MAE	Type of MAE	Did the error reach the patient	Medication class	Active failure(s)
N01	F	0–4	Ward	Wrong rate	Yes	Respiratory	Slip
N02	F	5–9	Ward	Wrong dose	Yes	Cardiovascular	KBM
N03	M	0–4	Ward	Wrong drug†‡	Yes	Antimicrobial	Violation
N04	F	0–4	Ward	Wrong dose	Yes	Endocrine	Slip
N05	F	10+	Ward	Wrong rate	Yes	Electrolyte	Slip
N06	F	0–4	Ward	Wrong rate	Yes	Cardiovascular	KBM
N07	F	5–9	Ward	Wrong rate	Yes	Antimicrobial	KBM
N07	F	0–4	Ward	Wrong administration technique	Yes	Cardiovascular	Lapse
N08	F	0–4	Ward	Wrong drug‡	Yes	Antimicrobial	Lapse
N09	F	0–4	Ward	Wrong rate	Yes	Respiratory	Slip
N10	F	0–4	Ward	Wrong dose†	No	Cardiovascular	KBM
N11	M	5–9	Ward	Wrong drug†‡	Yes	Antimicrobial	Violation
N12	F	0–4	Theatre	Wrong preparation§¶	Yes	CNS	Violation (×2)
N13	M	10+	Ward	Wrong preparation	Yes	Antimicrobial	KBM
N14	F	10+	Ward	Unordered drug‡§	Yes	Endocrine	Slip
N15	F	10+	Ward	Extra dose†‡§	Yes	CNS	RBM
N16	F	0–4	Ward	Wrong rate	Yes	Antimicrobial	Slip
N17	F	10+	Ward	Wrong preparation¶	Yes	Cardiovascular	Lapse
N18	F	5–9	Ward	Wrong rate	Yes	Cardiovascular	RBM
N19	F	10+	Theatre	Wrong preparation§¶	Yes	CNS	Slip, RBM
N20	F	10+	Theatre	Wrong dose	Yes	Cardiovascular	Lapse

*Number of years after qualified/licensed as a nurse that intravenous MAE occurred.
†Indicates occasions where nurses prepared and/or administered prescribing errors (eg, poorly written prescription).
‡Wrong drug, wrong patient, unordered drug and extra dose errors are considered ‘unauthorised drug errors’.
§Indicates occasions where a complex chain of events involving different professional groups was involved.
¶Indicates wrong label errors within wrong preparation group.
CNS, central nervous system; F, female; KBM, knowledge-based mistake; M, male; MAE, medication administration error; RBM, rule-based mistake.