Preventing Medical Errors

Root-cause thinking, safe handoffs and just-culture reporting to reduce preventable harm on your unit.

Contact hours: 2
Estimated time: 207 minutes
Last reviewed: May 2, 2026

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Post-test required · 75% to pass · unlimited retakes

About this course

A practical medical errors course designed to satisfy state-mandated error prevention requirements. You will review how errors actually happen, the systems that catch them, and how to speak up effectively. Includes the required focus areas for states that specify error prevention content.

Learning objectives

Describe the most frequently misdiagnosed conditions and error-prone processes.
Apply root cause analysis to a near-miss event.
Use structured handoff communication to prevent information loss.
Explain error reporting expectations and just-culture principles.

Course outline

12 sections · finish in any order across devices

1
Why errors happen
Systems thinking versus individual blame.
10 min
2
Error taxonomy
Slips, lapses, mistakes and violations.
17 min
3
Frequently misdiagnosed conditions
Sepsis, MI, stroke and pulmonary embolism pitfalls.
24 min
4
Medication error hot spots
Ordering, transcription, dispensing and administration.
16 min
5
Safe surgery and procedure practices
Site verification and time-out compliance.
23 min
6
Handoffs and transitions
SBAR and I-PASS in practice.
15 min
7
Alarm and alert fatigue
Managing interruptions and workarounds.
22 min
8
Root cause analysis walkthrough
A near-miss dissected step by step.
14 min
9
Reporting and just culture
How to report and what happens next.
21 min
10
Disclosure and communication
Talking with patients and families after harm.
13 min
11
Unit-level improvement
Small tests of change that stick.
20 min
12
Case review and post-test prep
Two scenarios and a summary checklist.
12 min

This course satisfies

Florida 2-hour medical errors requirement
General patient safety CE

Requirement summaries come from our state requirement records. Always confirm details with your board before you renew.

References and resources

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety primers (placeholder citation)
The Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alerts (placeholder citation)

Update history

v4.0 · May 2, 2026 · New sepsis recognition content and refreshed post-test.
v3.4 · Apr 19, 2025 · Updated handoff module to I-PASS.

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