Evidence-Based Approach to Addressing Medication Errors in Nursing Practice
Introduction
Nurses must develop practical ways to reduce medication errors because they significantly impact patient safety and the standard of healthcare. This essay examines evidence-based strategies to manage and avoid medication errors in nursing practice, focusing on the problem at hand. This research offers insights into the underlying causes of medication errors, the effects of various therapies, and their implications for nursing practice by performing a thorough literature review. The objectives are promoting patient safety, enhancing drug administration procedures, and raising the standard of nursing care as a whole.
Problem
Medication errors continue to be a serious and concerning issue in nursing practice, affecting patient safety and the standard of care. These mistakes are more common because of the intricacy of prescription regimens and the hectic, demanding nature of healthcare environments. Drug errors are a common worry in adult medical and surgical settings, according to a systematic review by Manias et al. (2020), with potential repercussions ranging from minor adverse events to severe injuries or even fatalities. Nurses are essential in addressing this issue and ensuring patient safety because they are the primary caregivers in administering medications.
Enhancing patient safety and preventing needless harm are the main objectives of the effort to address the problem of drug mistakes. By avoiding prescription errors, nurses can significantly lower the risk of adverse reactions, treatment delays, and patient harm. According to Pol-Castaeda et al. (2022), simulation-based training interventions can enhance nursing students’ competency in medication administration, highlighting the significance of giving nurses the knowledge and abilities to spot and avoid mistakes. This issue must be resolved to cut down on the expenses of drug errors in healthcare. Cost-related factors in healthcare include readmissions due to errors, extra treatments, and legal liabilities. Implementing evidence-based interventions might result in cost savings and more effective healthcare delivery, such as using health information technology for safer prescribing (Kruse et al., 2021).
Nurses work to enhance patient satisfaction and the overall healthcare experience by resolving medication mistakes. The efficacy and safety of a patient’s therapies significantly impact how they perceive their care. Ensuring precise medicine delivery improves patients’ faith in medical professionals and leads to more satisfying medical experiences. Nurses can actively identify and address system-level problems causing errors by implementing evidence-based strategies, such as root cause analysis and medication reconciliation processes. A fundamental objective is to instil a culture of safety and continual improvement in nursing practice, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes and boosting trust in the healthcare system.
Search Strategies
A systematic approach employing reliable databases and targeted keywords was used in the search tactics used to find pertinent material on medication errors in nursing practice. The analysts began by researching three vital databases: PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. These databases are eminent for their wide determination of peer-reviewed writing within the restorative and nursing areas. The selection of databases enabled access to a wide range of papers covering many facets of nursing interventions, patient safety, and drug errors.
Several keywords were used in conjunction to narrow the search and get results that were more targeted. “Medication errors,” “nursing practice,” “interventions,” and “patient safety” were among the terms utilized. These words were chosen in light of their applicability to the subject matter of the study and the aim of developing evidence-based approaches to deal with medication errors in nursing practice. These keywords were combined for the researchers to find literature highlighting nursing care-related measures to prevent medication mistakes. Only peer-reviewed publications from the past five years were included in the search. The literature retrieval could have been more extensive in time to ensure it contained the most recent information. The researchers sought to stay current with the most recent advancements in the area and get the most pertinent and timely data for the evidence-based study by concentrating on recent publications.
Level of Evidence
Numerous articles with various degrees of proof were produced due to the research on pharmaceutical errors in nursing practice. Among the research found, systematic reviews stood out for t
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