Writing Assignment #1:

Before submitting this assignment, be sure to read the assignment instructions here.

Please note: All writing must be in your own words. Any use of AI when writing this essay must be disclosed at the top of the essay, and the bulk of the writing must be your own, and not come from an AI.

It is fine to consult internet sources to better understand tenfold errors, but describing what these errors are and summarizing what the internet has to say about them is NOT the point of this essay. This essay should be about your own mathematical calculation as you have experienced it so far in this course, and the potential consequences to patients of different types of errors that you have personally made when doing the homework or lecture questions for this class.

Your Assignment:

About 15,000 people die from dosage errors each year in America. About two-thirds of these deaths are children or infants. As a result, the health care industry is continually looking for ways to reduce medication errors. As you have already seen, many of the rules which have been established for reading, writing, and administering medicines have been chosen and continually updated to address this issue.

First, read the article, Tenfold Errors in Drug Dosages. This short article describes a few cases of dramatic drug errors. (Scroll down to the bottom of the first page of the pdf file to see the beginning of this article.)

Then, write a 1500-3000 word essay which addresses the following questions:

1. Explain why a 10-fold error is particularly dangerous. In order to do this, be sure to explain what it means when an error is "tenfold," and compare a tenfold error to other errors which might be more or less extreme. Center this in the math--you do not need to go reading internet sources to describe this.
   Think about your own calculation mistakes when doing the work for this class. In answering the following questions, rely only on your own personal experiences working on the homework or lecture questions for this class:
   1. Which mistakes have you made that have been less dangerous than ten-fold errors?
      1. Give at least one specific example, describing what the mistake was, and how it is less dangerous than a tenfold error.
      2. Describe what led to the error.
      3. List one possible action you could take to reduce this error in the future.
   2. Have you ever made a tenfold error?
      1. Give at least one specific example, describing what the mistake was, and it is similar or different from the mistakes described in the attached article.
      2. Describe what led to the error.
      3. List one possible action you could take to reduce this error in the future.
   3. Which mistakes have you made that have been more dangerous than a ten-fold error? What led to those mistakes?
   1. Give at least one specific example, describing what the mistake was, and how it is more dangerous than a tenfold error.
   2. Describe what led to the error.
   3. List one possible action you could take to reduce this error in the future.

Your essay should flow smoothly - don't just answer each of the questions - be sure to write so that your essay makes sense as a whole.

Also, write as though you were explaining these issues to a friend who is not taking this class; simple, clear language is best, and if in doubt, explain something before you discuss it.

You will submit this assignment under the "Writing Assign." button on the main course webpage.

Once you have submitted this assignment, you will be required to read the essays of 3 fellow students and to give each of these classmates feedback on their essays; the deadline for this feedback is one week from the deadline for this assignment (see the Assignments page for details).

You will only be able to view other student essays once the deadline for submitting your first draft has passed.

Then you will have one week to revise this assignment and resubmit it before I assign a final grade.