Drug Administration to Patients

According to a cross-sectional study involving 237 nurses, approximately 65% of the nurses have made medication error. Only 31% of the participants reported medication errors. According to the study the most common type of reported errors were wrong dosage and infusion rate. The most common causes were using abbreviations of the drugs and similar names of the drugs. However, the study did not find any relationship between medication years and years of experience, age, and working shift. Yet study found association between intravenous injection and gender (Cheragi at al

Nurse prescribing was first suggested by the Royal Collage of nursing (RCN) in 1980, it was to take another six years for it to become part of the government’s agenda with the Cumberlege Report in 1986 (Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS)(1986). These two report

This article will look at two articles and focus on aspects of safety medication administration in nursing practice by the staff nurses. This is interesting area because the previous report on the medication administration error in the UK shows that approximately 5.6% of doses administered to adult hospital patients and it has been estimated that 0.6-1.2% of medication administration errors may lead to severe harm even death (Mcleod et al, 2013). Leape et al (1995) indicated that nurses were responsible for 86% of all medication error interception, regardless of the original errors. The nurses play the important role in identifying the causes of medication errors and preventing medication administration errors in nursing practice in order to provide safe care toward the service users (Henneman et al, 2010). The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA 2004) documented that the health professionals need to effectively and safely use medicines to ensure patients get the maximum benefit from the medicine; meanwhile minimizing the potential harm. This article will be critiqued on the different types of evidence which explored safety medication administration in the nursing practice toward service user. Using evidence is important in nursing practice because it can help nurses in addressing questions related to best possible care and improve patients’ outcome. It is embedded within the code the nurses are expected to use best possible evidence in the nursing

As clinical site co-ordinator with many years of clinical experience I feel competent in the drug administration via a variety of routes. Generally the patients I attend have become acutely unwell with most prescriptions not having the third eye of a pharmacist and most drugs being delivered intravenously. It is imperative therefore that the prescription and drugs always be thoroughly checked which relies on good communication throughout. Furthermore, most emergency drugs have a protocol for administration developed by the hospital. However within this situation the nurse is generally the last defence before any medication error actually occurs, therefore it is the nurses responsibility to ensure the prescription is correct and to challenge prescription written

The focus on prescribing within nursing profession was first brought into discussion by Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in 1980 but has proven to be cornerstone after was part of the government agenda as a result of Cumberlege report in 1996.This report outlined the need for

Administration of medication to a patient is an interdisciplinary concern. When dealing with medication, nurses are held with as much accountability as other members within the medical team. To uphold this standard, it is important for nurses to stay informed with new research to help provide better care to their patients. The nursing community also adheres to the “nursing process,” a guide that nurses utilize to achieve well-rounded care. Nurses can relate the nursing process not only to their plan of care, but also to different subjects to systematically analyze information. Applying the nursing process to this research created a connection that allows awareness of the

It is the nurse’s and pharmacist’s job to be cautious and aware of every medication they are administering by using their critical thinking skills and applying what they know to every situation. Although it is important for these individuals to be able to advocate for their patients, it also imperative that prescribers be aware of the impact they have on their patients as their actions have a domino effect. In conclusion, it is not the responsibility of a single profession to maintain safety in medication administration. It is the responsibility of everyone involved in the patient’s care. Each person who takes steps to improve the process and promote the patient as the number one priority is doing their part in refining how the healthcare system views medication

The study involved eleven consenting registered nurses in an acute medical/surgical setting in Australia. Popescu, the primary researcher observed the nurses over a three month period in 2007. Popescu observed the nurses during the medication administration process and their social interactions. The study reported, nurses tend to deviate from best-practice guideline when medications are kept in a communal medication room, where frequent distraction can occur. Analysis of the data discovered three chief factors that influenced the safety and quality of medication administration were ward design, therapeutic relationships, and deviations in best practice

One of the most important steps in caring for hospitalized patients is medication administration. Patients come into the hospital to be treated so they will feel better, it does not matter what the physician does if the medications are not given to the patient they will not get better. According to McGonigle and Mastrian, the steps of administering medication have not changed in many years, they are “assessment of need, ordering, dispensing, administration, and evaluation” (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2012, p. 386). The purpose of this paper is explain the medication administration process that is used in my facility, to determine the technology used is effective.

This article relates to nursing practice and pharmacology in that it is studying the happiness of nurses in regards to medication administration. Decreasing the time it takes to administer medication gives nurses a chance to give better, therapeutic care to their patients, and a chance to do things the right way. With more time spent with the patient, the satisfaction increases as well. Nurses spend a decent amount of time gathering supplies and then having to administer the medication to each patient, and the cabinets help the make their job easier.

To determine the level of competency of nurses during medication administration facilities should provide competency exams to nurses that focus on medications administration procedures. Competency and education of medication administration in nurses should be assessed during orientation and on a yearly basis. Medication administration is one of the most common duties nurses have in hospitals. According to the New Zealand Medical Journal, most of the injuries and adverse reactions that result from the wrong medications or doses given could have been prevented through safer medication practices and education (p 63). The Institute for

Lastly, it is apparent that many nurses are not aware of what protocol is for their work facility. Similarly, in the previous study, double checking medications is protocol for most if not all healthcare facilities. This study asked nurses questions about them double checking medications and how often do they perform it. It seems that not all nurses are on the same page with what precautions need to be addressed in order to ensure safe drug management. In both studies nurses were able to confess that many were not certain of the exact stipulations that needed to be met by their

In today’s current fast-paced and demanding field of heath care, medication administration has become complex and time-consuming task. Approximately one-third of the nurses’ time is used in medication administration. There is much potential for error because of the complexity of the medication administration process. Since nurses are the last ones to actually administer the medication to the patient therefore they become responsible for medication administration errors (MAE). Reasons for MAE may include individual factors, organizational factors or system factors. This paper will discuss the root causes analysis of MAE and strategies to prevent them.

As an educator nurses first must determine whether or not the patient or caregiver is capable of safe medication administration. Evaluation and assessment of the patient or responsible caregiver’s ability to perform medication administration is an essential task of the nurse. Once it has been established that the patient or caregiver is capable of medication administration it is the nurse’s responsibility to educate on general medication

The experience of improving the nursing skills met my learning objective because the mentee can catch if there are any mistakes by comparing doctor’s order with the M.A.R. and checking the care plan for the patient. However, the standard methods for administering medication follows the ten rights of medication administration to make safe nursing practice and “nurses are legally and ethically responsible for acquiring the knowledge needed to administer medication” (Perry & Potter, 2014,