Clinical judgment in medication administration among nursing students

Abstract

Nursing education includes the area of pharmacological therapies. Nursing educators may benefit from having students think like a nurse related to medication administration. The increased use of prescription medication and the complexities of medication administration present the need for clinical judgment. Simulation is used as an educational strategy to provide the opportunity for students to practice safe interventions which require the use of judgment to notice changes and interpret and intervene correctly. The comparison of low-fidelity and high-fidelity simulation experience in a study sample (n = 126) is examined for the effect on clinical judgment. The Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR) is used to score students after the simulation related to medication administration. Two of the items in the LCJR, noticing deviations (p = .35) and self analysis (p = .32), are positively affected by the level of fidelity of the simulation. A diverse, nontraditional student study sample demonstrated consistency in LCJR scoring. The outcome of increased clinical judgment may improve safety and nursing care in medication administration among nursing students.