Medical Errors and Ethical Considerations

Medical Errors and Ethical Considerations

What You'll Learn

  • The definition of a medical error
  • What to do if YOU commit a medical error
  • What to do if another health care professional caused an error
  • Ethical considerations of medical errors

Description

Decades ago physicians didn’t give much thought to medical errors, then in 2000 the Institute of Medicine issued a report called ‘To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System’ and called medical errors a major cause of preventable deaths and recommended that hospitals improve patient safety. Medical errors don’t just happen, they are so common that a BMJ study estimated they are the third leading cause of non-disease related death in the U.S. It is estimated that up to 9,000 Americans die every year from serious complications caused by medication errors out of the 100,000 FDA reported cases of known medication errors. Medical professionals are also considered victims and errors can cause shame, guilt, and legal consequences.

In this course, Dr. Beth Cleavenger will discuss medical errors, offer guidance on what to do if you make an error, review the AMA code of medical ethics, and review the ethical principles and duties involved with making an error.

The course then concludes with a discussion of some medical error case studies.

Course Content

  • Introduction and Definitions 17min
  • Ethical Duty, Transparency, and What to Do if I Make a Mistake 22min
  • Ethical Principles, Ethical Decision-Making, and What to Do if a Colleague Makes a Mistake 20min
  • Review of Case Studies 1h 04min

Instructor

Beth Cleavenger (PharmD) is a 2012 University of Montana Pharmacy School graduate. She was born and raised in Montana and moved to Arizona in the summer of 2012 to start her pharmacy career. It was this move that would change her life, her health, and the direction of her career forever. In pharmacy school Beth was taught to believe the lie that alternatives to conventional medicine were simply unnecessary and unreliable. She was led to believe that the only medicine and treatments patients could trust were rooted in clinical guidelines and FDA approved drugs. Ironically, after battling a “mysterious” chronic illness for four years it was naturopathic medicine that had saved her life.

Beth was halfway through pharmacy school when her health began to dramatically decline and she wholeheartedly embraced the medical wisdom she thought she had gained. Over the course of three years she went to 7 physicians and 3 specialists only to be dismissed as “normal”. Beth was hopeless, desperate, and on the verge of needing a medical leave of absence from her job. Realizing that she had nothing else to lose, Beth made an appointment to see a naturopathic physician.

At just 27 years old, Beth was battling a severe case of chronic fatigue syndrome, stage III adrenal fatigue, hormone imbalances, and a number of food intolerances. Little by little she has regained her health back with the help of natural supplements, a real-food diet, and even the anti-viral drug, valacyclovir, for her high Epstein-Barr viral load.

This journey has taught Beth more than the value and effectiveness of natural and alternative medicine. It has made her not only a more compassionate pharmacist, but a better one. This experience drives Beth to educate patients, colleagues, and friends on the benefit of integrating both natural and conventional medicine to improve quality of life.

Continuing Education Approvals

  • Canadian Federation of Aromatherapists (CFA)

    1.125 CEUs total (up to 1.125 CEUs Category B) -Direct Approval
  • College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia (CNPBC)

    2.25 hours total (up to 1 hour Category G - Ethics & Cultural Safety) -Direct Approval
  • College of Naturopaths of Ontario (CONO)

    2.25 credits total (up to 2.25 credits Category A) -Direct Approval
  • New Hampshire Association of Naturopathic Doctors (NHAND)

    2.25 CEUs total (up to 2.25 CEUs General) -Direct Approval
  • Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (VT OPR)

    2.25 hours total (up to 2.25 hours General) -Direct Approval
  • Alliance of International Aromatherapists (AIA)

    1.125 CPDs total (up to 1.125 CPDs Category B) -Assumed Approval
  • Arizona Naturopathic Physicians Medical Board (AZ NPMB)

    2.25 CMEs total (up to 2.25 CMEs General) -Assumed Approval
  • College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta (CNDA)

    2.25 continuing competence credits total -Assumed Approval
  • College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia (CNPBC)

    2.25 hours total (up to 2.25 hours Category C - Educational Courses) -Assumed Approval
  • College of Naturopaths of Ontario (CONO)

    2.25 credits total (up to 2.25 credits Category B) -Assumed Approval
  • Colorado Office of Naturopathic Doctor Registration (CO ONDR)

    2.25 PDAs total -Assumed Approval
  • Connecticut Department of Public Health: Naturopathic Physician Licensure (CT DPH: NPL)

    2.25 hours total -Assumed Approval
  • Council for Homeopathic Certification (CHC)

    2.25 CEUs total (up to 2.25 CEUs Category 2) -Assumed Approval
  • District of Columbia Health Regulation and Licensing Administration (DC HRLA)

    2.25 hours total -Assumed Approval
  • Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Professional & Vocational Licensing (HI DCCA)

    2.25 CEs total (up to 2.25 CEs General) -Assumed Approval
  • Idaho Board of Medicine: Naturopathic Medical Board (ID BOM: NMB)

    2.25 hours total (up to 2.25 hours General) -Assumed Approval
  • Kansas State Board of Healing Arts (KS SBHA)

    2.25 CEUs total -Assumed Approval
  • Maine Board of Complementary Health Care Providers (ME BCHCP)

    2.25 hours total (up to 2.25 hours General) -Assumed Approval
  • Manitoba Naturopathic Association (MNA)

    2.25 hours total (up to 2.25 hours Category B) -Assumed Approval
  • Maryland Board of Physicians (MD BP)

    1.5 hours total -Assumed Approval
  • Minnesota Board of Medical Practice (MN BMP)

    2.25 contact hours total (up to 2.25 contact hours General) -Assumed Approval
  • Montana Board of Alternative Health Care (MT BAHC)

    2.25 hours total (up to 2.25 hours General) -Assumed Approval
  • North Dakota Board of Integrative Health Care (ND BIHC)

    2.25 credits total (up to 2.25 credits General) -Assumed Approval
  • Rhode Island Department of Health: Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline (RI DOH: BMLD)

    2.25 hours total -Assumed Approval
  • Saskatchewan Association of Naturopathic Practitioners (SANP)

    2.25 hours total (up to 2.25 hours Category C, up to 1.5 hours Category F) -Assumed Approval
  • Utah Naturopathic Physician Licensing Board (UT NPLB)

    2.25 CEs total (up to 2.25 CEs General) -Assumed Approval
  • Washington State Department of Health: Board of Naturopathy (WA DOH: BON)

    2.25 hours total (up to 2.25 hours Category 2) -Assumed Approval
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$90.00
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This course includes:

  • 2.25 hours on-demand video
  • 1 downloadable resource
  • Full lifetime access
  • Certificate of completion (PDF)
  • Certificate available immediately
  • CEs / PDAs as outlined
This course is intended for practitioners.