Because we treat people, we want them to be as healthy as possible. Knowledge about medications helps us to promote health. We are legally responsible as health professionals for our actions, including medication administration. If we were to administer a known poison which harmed a client, even if it was ordered by someone else, we would be legally responsible for the harm which occurred.
People can make mistakes.
A physician can be distracted and order the wrong medication, an order can be misread, a pharmacist can send the wrong dosage or form, a nurse can be hurrying too much and pick up the wrong bottle, a client may even be confused and be in the wrong bed. We are the last check in a chain of events which allows a medication to enter a client's body. NEXT Age, Sex, Size, and Build Age, sex, and size factors may also put clients at risk for medication problems. Fetuses, infants, and children may experience developmental damage from medications. Children have a faster metabolism than most adults, so tend to metabolize medications faster than adults, with the rate being fastest at about two years of age and slowing down gradually for the rest of the person's life.