Page 59 - HA Convention 2016 [Abstracts (Day 1)]

Service Enhancement Presentations HOSPITAL AUTHORITY CONVENTION 2016

F2.7 Staff Engagement and Empowerment 10:45 Room 421

Enhancing Nurses’ Knowledge on High Alert Medications in an Acute Medical Ward
Wong SW, Yiu SC, Yeung SY, Tong WC
Medicine, North District Hospital, Hong Kong

Introduction

Medication incident is an adverse effect caused by medication. The worst effect can be permanent function loss or death.
Medication incidents are common, but most of them are preventable. According to Reporting and Learning Systems for
Medication Errors: the Role of Pharmacological Centre, World Health Organization (2014), medication incidents can be
caused by prescribing error, dispensing error, medication preparation error, administration error and monitoring error. Safe
medication practice has an important role on preventing medication incident by minimising these medication errors. In
healthcare setting, nursing is the last safeguard in delivery medication process. New and fresh graduated nursing staff may
not be familiar with the safe medication practice and differentiate medicine. To maintain patient safety, we should enhance
their knowledge and awareness on safe medication practice and medications.

Objectives

(1) To enhance and review common high-alert medications knowledge among new or fresh graduated nursing staff.; and (2) to
ensure patient safety.

Methodology Tuesday, 3 May

A quiz with 20 multiple choice questions on some common high-alert medications was distributed to all new nursing staff in
medical ward since December of 2015. In response to results collected, educational interventions were implemented within
two weeks by mentors. Then, a post-test would be arranged to assess their drug knowledge. The result would be evaluated.

Results

Six registered nurses (three new nursing staff and three fresh graduated nursing staff) in total were tested in a general
medical ward. The full mark of test is 100. The results of pre-test and post-test were with the range of 45 to 65 and 90 to
100 respectively. The mean sore of pre-test was 60.8 and the post-test was 95. The mean difference was 34.2. The results
showed that all nurses have significant improvement after the education. The weakest part was drug allergy (one of the high
risk medications). They made some careless mistakes in basic medication practices. In the post-test, all of them got score
over 90, and one-third of them got full marks in the post-test. It increased the alertness on medication safety practice. They
were more familiar with the common high-alert medications. They could be demonstrated well in checking the high risk
medication according to the guidelines.

Conclusion

A regular knowledge test and education on nurses in clinical area can enhance nurses’ knowledge and awareness on safe
medication practice and medications.

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