Quality medication administration

Quality medication administration is not simply a matter of adhering to the 'five rights'. The nurses' role in medication management is influenced by a multitude of factors not always within their control. Yet nurses maintain a duty of care to uphold safe and appropriate nursing interventions in pursuit of quality drug use. Whilst legislation and nursing standards offer principles and parameters for such interventions they can not provide directives. Hence, it remains each nurse's responsibility to understand the factors that influence medication management, to attain best practice on the patient's behalf.