Abstract
Background: Medication errors are the iceberg of patient safety in hospitals and leading cause of morbidity and mortality among patients. Objectives: The study aim was to evaluate the effect of an educational program of medication safety on the knowledge of critical care nurses regarding intravenous medication errors. Methods Design: There are one group pretest and posttest designs. Subject: A convenient sample of all registered nurses (52) works in Palestine Medical Complex. Data collection tools: A self-administered knowledge determination questionnaire consists of both qualitative and quantitative statements to measure level of knowledge, used as data collection tool in pre and post educational sessions, with educational booklet as intervention tool. Statistical analysis: Data were analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Software Version 18. The results are presented as frequency & percentage as appropriate at alpha level of P < 0.05; inferential statistics were generated. Paired t-test was used to perform the comparisons. Results: There was statistically significant difference in the knowledge level for the intensive care unit’s nurses regarding the intravenous medication administration during pre and post education program. Statistical analysis showed that there was a statistically significant between age, educational degree, critical units/wards, years of nursing experience and previous medication administration education program of the nurses and their knowledge during different phases of program intervention. Conclusion: Educational program on medication safety improves the knowledge of critical care nurses regarding intravenous medication errors. This study recommends that medication errors should be periodically assessed by improving clinical guidelines of medication administration.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundPatient safety is a priority for numerous health organizations worldwide, and is a corner stone in providing a high quality of care, whereas medication is an integral component of patient safety and has been considered as a major indicator of healthcare quality [1] [2] [3]
Sample: Out of the 214 nurses who were working in the four hospitals, a convenient sample of all registered nurses (52) working in intensive care units of four hospitals were included who were working at the medical intensive care unit (ICU), the surgical Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and the Coronary Care Unit (CCU)
Regarding years of experience in nursing field, the majority 67.3% of the study sample have equal or less than 5 years of experience, while the minority of the studied nurses (9.6%) have experience equals or more than 11 years. 44.2% of the study subjects are working at the medical ICU, and the remaining 30.8% & 25% are working at the surgical ICU and CCU respectively
Summary
Introduction and BackgroundPatient safety is a priority for numerous health organizations worldwide, and is a corner stone in providing a high quality of care, whereas medication is an integral component of patient safety and has been considered as a major indicator of healthcare quality [1] [2] [3]. Because of drowsiness or unconsciousness, ICU patients are not able to monitor and report the drug side effects: in this unit, patients are most vulnerable to be exposed to medication errors due to care complexity, severe illness, and providing life-sustaining treatment [5] [6]. Objectives: The study aim was to evaluate the effect of an educational program of medication safety on the knowledge of critical care nurses regarding intravenous medication errors. Results: There was statistically significant difference in the knowledge level for the intensive care unit’s nurses regarding the intravenous medication administration during pre and post education program. Conclusion: Educational program on medication safety improves the knowledge of critical care nurses regarding intravenous medication errors. This study recommends that medication errors should be periodically assessed by improving clinical guidelines of medication administration
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