Determination of Nursing Interventions For Prevention of Medication Administration Errors

Purpose: This research was a descriptive study performed with the aim of determining nursing practices about preventing medication administration errors. Methods: This research was completed in an education-research hospital and a private hospital located in a metropolitan city in Turkey. For collection of data, forms about descriptive characteristics, features related to medication administration errors of nurses, individual practices and institutional precautions about preventing medication errors were used. The research included 275 nurses actively administering medication. Analysis of data used percentages, mean, standard deviation, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal Wallis and correlation analysis tests. Results: As a result of the research, 87.2% of nurses stated they always checked the patient’s name, medication name, medication dose, and medication administration route, while 8% stated they very rarely researched the correct preparation form based on medication properties. Nurses with postgraduate education, choosing the profession themselves and satisfied with the profession were identified to perform more interventions about preventing medication errors (p<0.05). As the precautions taken by institutions in the research increased, the precautions taken by nurses about preventing medication errors reduced. Of nurses, 96.6% recommended increasing the number of nurses to prevent medication errors. Conclusion: It is recommended to implement standards related to medication administration, develop institutional policies, use technology in the medication administration process, expand lessons and topics related to medication administration errors and precautions in the basic nursing education curriculum and increase in-service training and activities.