A “Back to Basics” Approach, Essay Example

Introduction

Nurses have a significant responsibility to administer medications in a timely and efficient manner to all patients and to be cognizant of the challenges of this process and how they impact patient care quality. They must focus on medication administration in a detailed fashion in order to accomplish the intended objectives and to aim to minimize errors whenever possible. This is an important reminder of the challenges related to patient care that impact the practice environment on a continuous basis. These factors support the continued growth and development of organizations as they aim to be proactive in enabling their nurses to perform this role successfully and without errors. Nurses must commit to a protocol or procedure that will provide their patients with optimal support and encouragement in aiming to prevent further complications that are associated with medication errors and to be cognizant of their surrounding environment in supporting medication administration events (Mahmood, Chaudhury, & Valente, 2011).

Analysis

Medication administration requires nurses to acquire the appropriate training and education that is necessary to achieve the desired expectations within this role, and this is accomplished through a greater awareness of the surrounding working climate and how it may support the reduction of errors and the reporting of errors that occur (Joolaee, Hajibabaee, Pevrovi, Haghani, & Bahrani, 2011). Nurses must pay particular attention to this process because medication errors may pose a serious risk to some patients under the appropriate circumstances and may also require further consideration and evaluation of the different needs of the patient population in question (Joolaee et.al, 2011). Furthermore, patients must be provided with the tools and resources that are necessary to support a climate that encourages proper reporting via information technologies and the creation of a work climate that facilitates full disclosure in this manner (Warrick et.al, 2011). These factors provide patients with a level of stability and support that nurses provide through the actions that are taken and the decisions that are made in this manner that have a direct impact on quality of care (Warrick et.al, 2011).

In a general context, nurses must possess the knowledge and have the tools in place to administer medications without errors on a continuous basis, and this is accomplished through a series of events that will have a lasting impact on outcomes and on the development of new strategies to improve patient care quality with this process (Blank et.al, 2011). In some ways, facilitating a basic strategy and response to medication administration will provide opportunities to achieve greater growth and comfort with this process and in supporting the growth of the practice environment through the steps that are taken (Blank et.al, 2011). This process also demonstrates the value of developing an effective communication strategy among nurses so that medication errors are minimized and all discussions regarding medications are likely to have a positive impact on the administration of patient care (Blank et.al, 2011).

Conclusion

From a nursing perspective, it is of critical importance to establish a new set of perspectives that will have a lasting impact on the quality of patient care. This includes medication administration as a primary means of understanding the dynamics of the process and how it must be properly coordinated in order to reduce the potential risk of errors and the ability to be effective in meeting patient care needs in a timely manner. Nurses play a critical role in administering medications; therefore, patients must be provided with the tools and resources that are necessary to support this role in a timely manner that involves continuous communication and a greater understanding of how to have a positive impact on patient care quality on a continuous basis.

References

Blank, F. S., Tobin, J., Macomber, S., Jaouen, M., Dinoia, M., & Visintainer, P. (2011). A “Back to Basics” approach to reduce ED medication errors. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 37(2), 141-147.

Joolaee, S., Hajibabaee, F., Peyrovi, H., Haghani, H., & Bahrani, N. (2011). The relationship between incidence and report of medication errors and working conditions. International nursing review, 58(1), 37-44.

Mahmood, A., Chaudhury, H., & Valente, M. (2011). Nurses’ perceptions of how physical environment affects medication errors in acute care settings. Applied Nursing Research, 24(4), 229-237.

Warrick, C., Naik, H., Avis, S., Fletcher, P., Franklin, B. D., & Inwald, D. (2011). A clinical information system reduces medication errors in paediatric intensive care. Intensive care medicine, 37(4), 691-694.