Medication administration errors are mistakes that occur in prescribing, dispensing and giving medications and considered as one of the leading causes of death and poor patient outcomes. Medication errors cause a myriad of adverse events that include severe morbidity, longer stays in hospitals, increased cost of care, unnecessary diagnostic tests and treatment and fatalities. Nurses should understand the common causes of medication errors, their impacts on patients, and report them. As patient advocates, they need to demonstrate responsibility in reporting these events for effective evidence-based practice interventions (Koyama & Sherida, 2020). The purpose of this in-service training presentation is to offer an overview of a quality improvement plan designed for nurses to prevent the occurrence of medication errors in their practice. The training main focus is to enlighten nurses on strategies to prevent medication errors.
In-service training sessions have positive effects on nursing practice since they enhance staff confidence when offering care to certain patient populations. These sessions also allow for a safe and nonthreatening environment for nurses to practice their skills before a real patient occurrence (Patel & Wright, 2018). Through the participation of nurses in this training, they will enhance their application of evidence-based practice interventions and nurture active listening skills as they interact with patients in different care settings (Koyama & Sheridan, 2020). Participation in these sessions encourages and builds a team approach to medication errors, enhances collaboration, increased patient safety and better patient satisfaction rates in the practice environment.
The training will take 2 to 3 days and entail use of different strategies with the main focus being reducing and preventing medication errors by equipping nurses with effective tools. The presentation will ensure that nurses have better knowledge on medication errors and embraces the use evidence-based practice interventions. The presentation also focuses on ensuring that there is a reduction in verbal and phone orders from physicians and nurses double check high alert medications before administration to patients (Koyama & Sheridan, 2020).
Patients deserve safety outcomes that enhance their overall quality of life and mitigate occurrence of adverse events like medication errors and hospital acquired infections. Quality improvement in healthcare facilities is an essential aspect of enhancing processes and ways of offering care for the benefit of patients (Durham et al., 2017). It allows a facility and its providers to deliver better services and engage all stakeholders affected by a healthcare organization
The audience comprising of nurses will play an essential role in the presentation and should ensure that the improvement plan to prevent and reduce medication errors succeeds in the facility. The success of this quality improvement plan would enhance quality care delivery, increased inter-professional collaboration and enhance overall use of evidence-based interventions to mitigate the occurrence of medication errors (Durham et al., 2018). The active participation of the audience would lead to development of better interventions. As such, the audience should reflect and give accounts of their experiences with medication errors, take notes and ask question, offer suggestions, and role play where necessary.
Medication errors are adverse events that result from patients getting the wrong medication or dosage. There are several errors like transcriptional among other. The Food and Drug Administration estimates that at least 100,000 errors are reported each year in the United States but most of them are never reported. Not all medication errors can be prevented but most are preventable due to their causes. The common causes include distraction that accounts for close to three-quarters of the incidents, distortions and wrong prescription emanating from things like illegible writing (Baiden, 2018). Close to 9,000 individuals lose their lives due to medication errors. The implication is that not all medication errors cause harm but when it occurs, it may be fatal. Medication-related administration errors cost over $40 billion each year.
The proposed quality improvement plan seeks to reduce and prevent medication errors through the application of technology and process improvement strategies. The technology-based interventions will include use of bar-code scanning medication administration and automated dispensing systems. Through barcode scanning, nurses can scan the identification bracelet for each patient and know the medication that they. Evidence suggests that barcode scanning administration can reduce medication errors associated to distraction by 75% through effective application of the five rights of medication administration. Automated dispensing system (ADS) can reduce the occurrence of medication errors by close to 55% (Godshall et al., 2018). The process-based intervention will entail changing the documentation timing, reducing the chances of workarounds and effective selection of vendor with robust training capabilities.
The need to address medication errors emanates from their adverse effects. These include psychological and physical effects that they cause to patients, a reduction in patient quality care, may be a source of disability and increases the cost of care. further, medication errors lead to prolonged stays in hospitals and reduces patient satisfaction levels. Therefore, by addressing their causes, nurses and other healthcare providers will prevent potential deaths, improve patient satisfaction and enhance trust in the health care systems and care provision (Koyama & Sheridan,2020). Using these strategies will help nurses to enhance collaboration and offer better care.
All providers, including nurses, have a responsibility to promote quality and safe care for their patients and health populations. Increased incidences of medication errors imply that providers are not doing enough to protect patients and their needs, especially safety. The audience comprising of nurses has critical role that include promotion of interventions to reduce and prevent medication errors to enhance patient care, implementing policies that will assist in the prevention of medication errors, and use evidence-based practices for effective care delivery. The audience has a role to collaborate among the professionals with the aim of enhancing care and patient safety outcomes. The audience should convince the management about the significance of quality improvement interventions as well as attending sessions on the use of evidence-based practice interventions.
Nurses are essential policy formulation because of their huge numbers and proximity to patients. Nurses have training on incorporating evidence-based practice when caring for patients. The implication is that their knowledge, skills, and experiences enable nurses to be strategically positioned to promote quality of care. They should collaborate with other professionals to enhance patient outcomes through preventing medication errors (Patel & Wright, 2018). They should take an active role in implementing the two strategies and respond to any emerging issues. They need to enhance their overall skills and attributes to ensure that patients are safe and receive quality care.
Nurses attending the training will need to understand and adopt new processes and skills that include having interdisciplinary attributes, communication skills and have technological skills and knowledge. The nurses will also need increased flexibility to implement these new approaches and strategies to enhance their response to adverse events that include medication errors (Koyama & Sheridan, 2020). These skills will enhance the adoption of process and technology-based interventions. The nurses need knowledge on the utilization of scanning equipment to enhance medication administration and reduce potential errors.
The activity for this presentation will entail diving the audience into three different groups. Each of the groups will has a discussion about the pros and cons of using the suggested technological and process based interventions presented in the training session. The groups will make a presentation using their representatives for the rest to ask questions. The group leaders will respond to the questions during the presentation (Patel & Wright, 2018). The group that makes the best presentation and answers fielded questions well will get an award and be declared as the winners.