Medication Administration Errors for Prescription- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theMedication Administration Errors for Prescription. Answer: Introduction Nurses play a vital role in the process of medication management. They take part in identifying problems related to medication safety in clinical practices. Medication errors are a common factor affecting the safety of patients and consumers at large. In order to eradicate medication errors we consider interdisciplinary communication and multidisciplinary approach. One third of medication errors arise during administration and prescription of medication. When the seven Rs which include, right time, right drug, right dose, right documentation, right route, right patient, and right reason are not adhered to, MAEs are likely to occur (Smeulers, 2014). This study helps eradicate medication administration errors to ensure safety of patients. Therefore, this paper intends to critically appraise the article - Smeulers, M., Onderwater, A. T., Zwieten, M. C., Vermeulen, H. (2014). Nurses' experiences and perspectives on medication safety practices: an explorative qualitative study.Journal of nursing management,22(3), 276-285. Research problem and justification The process of administering medication is prone to errors, mainly due to workload aced by nurses and environmental factors too. However, nurses are in a better position to prevent these medication errors before they affect patients (Kripalani et al., 2012). Due to the high numbers of medication administration errors, many safety practices have emerged recently to help eliminate the MAEs. These include double-checking, E-learning, visual reminders, interruption protection, electronic systems among others (Smeulers, 2014). However, these practices generate fair results and use of bar-coded medication is classified as the best in promoting medication safety. This study is aimed identifying nurses perspective and experiences in application of safety practices and realizing high levels of implementation of these safety practices (Keers, 2015). Research design and Methodology The setting of this study was based in Netherlands, in a tertiary university hospital. Medical personnel administer medication through electronic prescription (Smeulers, 2014). Each ward having 30 beds has a storage room where administration of drugs by nurses takes place. All prescriptions are recorded in a hardcopy administration file. Each nurse has a patient to take care of, administer, and prescribe medication. We performed a brief explanation explaining the aim of our study to the management and the nurses. Purposive sampling mode was used to collect data. Nurse Managers, quality and safety innovators and nursing ward managers were approached via email requesting them to participate in the research. Snowball sampling was thereafter used to select names of nurses of different seniorities from other departments. Nurses with varied attitudes and views on medication safety were also sampled (Edvardsson, Watt Pearce, 2017). All those who participated in the research were expected to be qualified and registered nurses. The process continued until satisfactory results were reached. Open-ended questionnaires were also administered to help collect more information on the possible causes of medication administration errors. Filled questionnaires were then to be submitted via email to the researchers. A total of 20 nurses participated in data collection of the research. Each participant was interviewed in a span of an hour maximum. The interview gave room for participants to give their views openly with guidance of the interview facilitators. The topic of discussion was divided into sections that could be understood easily by the respondent. Toward the end of the study, the respondents are given chance to give their views on the effective ways of eradicating MAEs (Smeulers, 2014). All participants of the study were assured of confidentiality of their views and assure that any information given would be used purposely for the study and nothing else. They were advised to omit their names and any personal information in the administered questionnaires (Vaismoradi, 2014). Analysis of the collected data was conducted after all interviews were conducted and questionnaires submitted. Max software as used to analyze the interviews qualitatively. Data from interviews were given codes and arranged separately until a final consensus was met. Research peers reviewed the data findings and the co-authors verified the analyzed data. Research Findings and Results All the 20 nurses approached took part in the research, 8 of whom were male and 13 female. Causes of medication errors and possible solutions were realized. When the patients required information is given wrongly, prescription errors are likely to occur. Barcode method is also not very appropriate since it is not applicable where the patients arm is missing or where there is no power, the scanning machine may not work. This problem can be solved by physicians recording all patient history and medication prescriptions in a computer and backup kept for easier remembrance and for future purposes. . Caregivers ought to inform patients on the kind of medication they are taking, their effects, and consequences of using the drug wrongly, together with what the drug treats (Melby, Brattheim Helles, 2015). Confusion may arise from drug labeling. Different drugs may have similar labels and nurses are likely to cause drug poisoning resulting into medication administration errors. Drug companies and healthcare organizations ought to make sure the drugs are clearly labeled to avoid wrong prescriptions that might cause harm to patients. Different colors should be used for look-alike drugs for differentiate purposes and cautionary labels indicated to avoid poisoning. (McLeod, Barber Franklin, 2015). Improper arrangement of drugs, dim lighting, caregiver fatigue, and distractive environment promote medication errors. Distractions interfere with the nurses focus and concentration and mistakes are likely to occur. To rectify these errors, the environment should be made quiet by putting signposts of noise free zone (Radley et al., 2012). Nurses should be relieved of the workload, as they are required to perform several tasks like cleaning the patients rooms might also result into medication errors. Therefore, here is call for healthcare centre to employ more nurses for even distribution of work to promote delivery of quality services to patients (McLeod, Barber Franklin, 2015). For nurses who would commit medication administration errors due to carelessness or deliberately will be subjected to disciplinary actions by the board of nurses. Some of these consequences include civil charges, suspension from duty or job dismissal (McLeod, Barber Franklin, 2015). In avoiding medication errors, nurses need to be sensitive in performing the five rights medication. Nurses should use the safety systems available in their health centers. This can be done by requesting another colleague to double check medication administered to ensure accuracy. Reading and verifying medication by nurse also helped eliminate MAEs (Nuckols et al., 2014). Whether patient is allergic, a specific drug is equally important. Using oral syringe to administer oral drugs also promotes accuracy hence reducing chances of medication errors. Nurses should be vigilant and alert in administering medication by following appropriate procedures as instructed. Entering physician orders via a computerized system helps nurses be more accurate than verbal means, handwritten may be a problem since the instructions may be poorly written hence not clearly seen and understood (Melby, Brattheim Helles, 2015). This study also educates the nursing professional that having enough experience does not guarantee them of free to medication errors, but their knowledge and skills is what matters. This means that nurses require an environment where growth and development of their skills and knowledge is frequently practiced to make them better caregivers. To achieve such stimulating environment, nurse managers have to incorporate and emphasize on continuous learning on medication safety. Conclusion Medication administration errors should be eradicated since they may cause harm to patients. Nurses should take full responsibility be held accountable for any kind of error. In order to eradicate medication administration errors, patients should be educated on the prescribed drugs. Environment around the healthcare should be free from interactions to ensure physicians focus on patients. Drugs ought to be well labeled to avoid confusion and nurses penalized in case of any deliberate errors that cost patient safety. References Edvardsson, D., Watt, E., Pearce, F. (2017). Patient experiences of caring and person?centredness are associated with perceived nursing care quality. Journal of advanced nursing, 73(1), 217-227. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13105 Keers, R. N., Williams, S. D., Cooke, J., Ashcroft, D. M. (2015). Understanding the causes of intravenous medication administration errors in hospitals: a qualitative critical incident study.BMJ open,5(3), e005948. https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005948 Kripalani, S., Roumie, C. L., Dalal, A. K., Cawthon, C., Businger, A., Eden, S. K., Huang, R. L. (2012). Effect of a pharmacist intervention on clinically important medication errors after hospital discharge: a randomized trial. Annals of internal medicine, 157(1), 1-10. DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-157-1-201207030-00003 McLeod, M., Barber, N., Franklin, B. D. (2015). Facilitators and barriers to safe medication administration to hospital inpatients: a mixed methods study of nurses medication administration processes and systems (the MAPS study). PLoS One, 10(6), e0128958. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128958 Melby, L., Brattheim, B. J., Helles, R. (2015). Patients in transitionimproving hospitalhome care collaboration through electronic messaging: providers perspectives. Journal of clinical nursing, 24(23-24), 3389-3399. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12991 Nuckols, T. K., Smith-Spangler, C., Morton, S. C., Asch, S. M., Patel, V. M., Anderson, L. J., ... Shekelle, P. G. (2014). 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