Date of Award

Spring 5-12-2018

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Nursing

Advisor

Ann Sossong

Second Committee Member

Particia Poirier

Third Committee Member

Kelley Strout

Additional Committee Members

Shihfen Tu

Lynn Thornton

Abstract

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE USE OF SIMULATION IN

NURSING EDUCATION AND SAFETY WITH

MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION

IN THE CLINICAL SETTING

Deborah A. Eremita

Thesis Advisors: Dr. Ann Sossong and Dr. Patricia Poirier

An Abstract of the Dissertation Presented

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree Interdisciplinary Doctor of Philosophy

In Nursing and Education

May 2018

Medication errors represent a significant threat to patient safety. Administration of medications is a primary role of nursing practice and a critical component of nursing education curricula. Safe medication is a challenging process to teach nursing students. Simulation may provide students with a realistic opportunity to practice the process of safe medication administration. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the relationship between the use of simulation as a teaching strategy for medication administration and the incidence of medication errors in the clinical setting.

The pilot study consisted of a sample of 26 second semester junior nursing students enrolled in an Adult Health III medical-surgical clinical course using a quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test design. The teaching intervention included simulation scenarios containing embedded medication errors and distractions which were constructed using Jefferies (2012) nursing education simulation framework. The goal of the simulation scenarios were to increase the students’ ability to administer medications safely. Competency during the simulation sessions was measured using the Creighton Competency Evaluation Instrument. Medication safety knowledge and competency was measured using the Medication Safety Knowledge Assessment tool and the Healthcare Professionals Patient Safety Assessment Curriculum Survey tool. Medication errors and near miss errors were measured by documenting in the clinical setting using the Clinical Medication Administration Assessment Tool. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics, including the means and standard deviations, Chi-square, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and independent t-tests. The findings of this study will add to the knowledge in the use of simulation as an educational method to enhance nursing students’ competency with medication administration.

Keywords: Simulation, nursing education, medication administration, medication errors

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