Introduction
The occurrence of medication administration errors in the facility necessitates developing a training plan to address the problem and solve it via staff education and training. For that purpose, this in-service session aims to improve the nursing staff’s skills in safe medication administration in the hospital setting. More specifically, the goals of this session include educating the team on the importance of safe medication administration, raising awareness about factors hindering safe outcomes, providing theoretical guidance on safety measures, and training practical skills in medication administration.
Importance of improving medication administration safety outcomes
In all healthcare protocols, patient safety is the ultimate value and goal of care. Any misunderstanding or miscommunication in multi-professional teams or mere performance mistakes when administering drugs by nurses might threaten patients’ health, well-being, and life. Medication error elimination deals with the emphasis on checking for inter-drug compatibility and medication administration procedures’ accuracy. Being a relevant healthcare concern across the globe, the improvement of medication safety is essential for developing reliable and high-standard healthcare systems (Bull et al., 2017). Moreover, the role of nurses in this process is difficult to overestimate.
The role of nurses in improving safety outcomes
The role of nurses in improving safety outcomes for patients is pivotal due to their direct involvement in patient guidance throughout treatment. The causes of medication errors stem from mistakes in “prescribing; sequence communication; drug- labeling, packaging, absence of knowledge about medication administration, misinterpretation of oral directions and compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; follow-up; and use” (Zakria, A. M., & Mohamed, 2017, p. 15). Since nurses function as patients’ advocates and educators, as well as direct links between healthcare system and patients, it is essential for them to deliver safe care (Di Simone et al., 2018). For that matter, it is important to eliminate knowledge gaps for performance excellence through continuous learning and skills improvement.
Lecture and Informative Video
The first activity within this in-service training session is based on the introductory theoretical session. Since the lack of theoretical knowledge on proper medication administration is commonly reported by nurses as the reason for errors, it is essential to fill possible knowledge gaps (Di Simone et al., 2018). Within this phase of the in-service training, the nurses will listen to the lecture on standard measures of medication safety. After that, they will watch an educational case video, which will then be discussed in groups to interpret and process the newly obtained information. At the end, the nurses will share their concerns, and opinions, and reflect on their practice.
Medication administration workshop
The second activity for the in-service training is a medication administration workshop facilitated by pharmacists. According to Bull et al. (2017), inter-professional workshops are effective in training skills and ensuring proper safety outcomes. Within this workshop, the participants will train their skills in drug calculation and detection of drug compatibility for multiple medication prescriptions. Moreover, the participants will be trained to follow a prescription protocol under the guidance of the pharmacist.
IV medication administration training
The third activity for the in-service training session is intravenous (IV) drug administration training. According to research, IV administration errors are identified as one of the most commonly observed threats to patient safety in hospitals (Di Simone et al., 2018). Therefore, this activity aims to emphasize the importance of detecting interrupting factors and the skills for eliminating distractions and interruptions to ensure proper procedure accuracy. At the end of the training, the participants will engage in interprofessional team communication to share their concerns and opinions.
Questionnaire
The final activity of the training session will be a questionnaire, which will test the nurses’ knowledge and skills in the field of safe medication administration after the training completion. The questionnaire will solicit feedback for the plan improvement, as well as request propositions for error elimination in drug administration in the participants’ setting. Furthermore, future training needs will be identified, as well as self-reported changes in practice will be retrieved.
Conclusion and Feedback encouragement
In summation, the proposed in-service training is aimed at identifying the causes of errors and eliminating them through skills acquisition and knowledge gap filling. The outcome of the session is anticipated to be manifested in performance excellence in medication administration. Moreover, the emphasis on team communication will allow for building meaningful interprofessional relationships for safety outcomes for patients. The participants are encouraged to share their feedback for further improvements
References
Bull, E. R., Mason, C., Junior, F. D., Santos, L. V., Scott, A., Ademokun, D., Simiao, Z., Oliver, W. M., Joaquim, F. F., & Cavanagh, S. M. (2017). Developing nurse medication safety training in a health partnership in Mozambique using behavioural science. Globalization and Health, 13(1), 1-10.
Di Simone, E., Giannetta, N., Auddino, F., Cicotto, A., Grilli, D., & Di Muzio, M. (2018). Medication errors in the emergency department: Knowledge, attitude, behavior, and training needs of nurses. Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine, 22(5), 346-352.
Zakria, A. M., & Mohamed, S. A. (2017). Safety intervention educational program to reduce medication administration errors and interruptions. Journal of Nursing and Health Science, 6(2), 15-22.