OBJECTIVES: Medication errors (MEs) frequently contribute for patient’s morbidity and mortality in healthcare settings. The present study was aimed to identify and assess the pattern of occurrence of MEs and to develop strategies to prevent these MEs. METHODS: It was a prospective study conducted in a teaching hospital over a period of 6 months. Trainee clinical pharmacists followed the patients admitted to general surgery (GS) wards. MEs occurred and the cause for ME was identified by reviewing medical records, interviewing patients and concerned health care professionals (HCPs). All identified MEs were documented electronically and were evaluated for its nature, extent, cause and outcome. Prevention strategies were developed accordingly. RESULTS: A total of 417 MEs were identified in 313 patients from 1125 patients followed. Calculated incidence of MEs in GS wards was 27.8%.  The majority of them were prescribing errors (60.4%), followed by administration errors (38.6%) and dispensing errors (9.8%). The common reasons observed for MEs were omission error (25%), incorrect drug selection (14%), wrong frequency (10%), poor patient adherence to medicines (7%), drug use without indication (7%), improper dose (6%), wrong administration (4%) and wrong time (3%). Pantoprazole (27.5%), Ceftriaxone (9.8%), Piperacillin-Tazobactum (6.7%), Diclofenac (6.4%) and Tramadol (6.2%) were drugs commonly involved in MEs. Majority of MEs (96%) that reached to patients were not harmful but 32% of them needed monitoring/intervention to ensure patient safety. Around 60% of MEs were due to inappropriate prescribing by clinicians followed by patient non-adherence to therapy (14%), improper follow up by ward clinical pharmacists (15%) and nursing workload (11%). Strategies were designed to prevent commonly identified MEs. CONCLUSIONS: MEs can be minimized if patients are monitored correctly on time. Appropriate team work from all HCPs can certainly reduce the occurrence of MEs.