XR4005 Assignment Application of Research to EBP

XR4005

Slide 1

Welcome to this presentation on medication administration errors in the practice of nursing. Medication errors are one of the top quality and safety concerns in healthcare.

Slide 2

The majority of these errors can be prevented through evidence-based interventions and through enhancing the nursing safety system. The most common medication administration errors are giving the wrong medication, wrong dose, wrong route, wrong patient, or the wrong time for medication (Brabcová et al., 2023). These are often also referred to as medication administration errors relating to the “Five Rights”. These can be nurse workload, disturbance or interruption of medication preparation, fatigue, lack of communication, and poor training. Medication errors are considered a significant patient safety issue by national organizations like the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and The Joint Commission, as they impact patient outcomes, drive up healthcare expenses, and diminish trust in the healthcare system. This presentation will discuss research studies and research needs to improve the reduction of medication administration errors in nursing practice and present practical suggestions to improve medication administration errors.

Slide 3

This slide is a summary of Grys’ first scholarly article of 2022 examining relationships between evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and nursing research. The article highlights that often these three are confused by nurses, which can cause hindrances with the implementation of safety initiatives (Grys, 2022). The author explains the difference between evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and research, and notes that they are not synonymous, but rather serve different purposes. A big concern that one large organization has is that they don’t use the structured evidence-based practice models consistently, so there are medication safety gaps. The article prescribes formal frameworks, like the Iowa Model, as a guide to developing medication safety frameworks. An important intervention is to educate bedside nurses on the difference between quality improvement projects and formal studies. This can help to reduce any confusion about the regulations and make it more convenient for nurses to be more confident in getting involved in improvement. The article also argues that Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles should be used to monitor medication errors and evaluate solutions, and nurse-led quality improvement teams should be created. Finally, the author highlights the need for visual models to establish a common understanding about evidence-based practice and medication safety goals across the organization and during staff orientation as well as continuing education.

Slide 4

In this slide, Mohamed and colleagues’ second scholarly article, which examined the impact of virtual journal clubs on nursing competency for evidence appraisal, is discussed (Mohamed et al., 2024). The authors found that the ability of many nursing students and clinical nurses to critically appraise and apply medication safety research in the clinical setting was being hampered by their lack of skills in the critical appraisal process. The traditional journal club was challenging to attend due to scheduling and geographic limitations, limiting the opportunity for nurses to keep pace with evidence-based practice. The study confirmed that virtual journal clubs improved nurses’ research skills, research evidence appraisal, and PICO question development. These skills are important to develop as they will help nurses to put the results of research into safer handling of medicines into practice. Another theme that was identified as being a problem was interprofessional collaboration and communication in relation to evidence for medication safety. Virtual platforms offer opportunities for increased engagement and learning. The authors recommend that healthcare organizations should have regular virtual journal clubs to advance staff participation in EBP, improve the medication safety culture, and to close the gap between EBP and clinical practice.

Slide 5

This slide presents an overview of the additional data that needs to be gathered to assist with recommendations to reduce medication administration errors. It is important to have both quantitative and qualitative data to complete the picture of the problem and to identify promising interventions. Examples of quantitative data are medication administration error rates (per 1000 doses administered), near-miss reporting rates, staffing ratios, and medication administration time during periods of high census. The measures are employed to identify situations, trends, and patterns that will result in errors. Another measure of importance would be to determine medication error rates before and after the introduction of technologies such as the Bar Code Medication Administration System. In addition to the qualitative data, which is useful for comprehending patients, families, and nurses’ experiences and perceptions. Barriers identified from interviews and/or focus groups can be helpful for identifying barriers that are not readily apparent in statistical reports, such as interruptions, fatigue, communication issues and/or stressors from the workload (Xu et al., 2025). The narratives of medication errors may also be analysed to detect themes and contributing factors to medication errors. Interventions may be designed based on a blend of quantitative and qualitative information to support an evidence-based, targeted, and responsive intervention.

Slides 6

On this slide, there are four evidence-based recommendations for increasing the safety of medicines and minimizing medication administration errors. The first one being implemented is: Barcode Medication Administration. Barcode scanning can help reduce human error and improve adherence to the five rights of medication administration by ensuring the correct patient, medication, dose, route, and time are being used prior to giving the medicine (Williams et al., 2025). The second proposal is the creation of separate areas where medication is not given for medication preparation of medication. Studies indicate that interruptions/distractions cause more medication errors because they cause cognitive overload and decrease concentration. Establishing secure medication preparation areas may assist nurses to concentrate and minimize errors. The third suggestion is to use monthly cycles for quality improvement (plan-do-study-act) on the part of the nurse. These cycles include an ongoing review of medication error data, trend analysis of the data, and the testing of change efforts in the unit in real time. The final proposal is virtual, six-week journal clubs, to support continuing education in evidence-based practice. The sessions would ensure nurses are kept informed with the evidence of the latest drug safety, improve critical appraisal skills, and facilitate the use of the evidence to inform clinical practice. All these interventions contribute to an enhanced culture of patient safety and continuous quality improvement.