Pediatric emergency nurses' self-reported medication safety practices

Preventable adverse events occur more frequently in areas such as the emergency department with medication errors as the most frequently reported errors. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather descriptive data of medication safety practices used by pediatric emergency nurses in the Midwest U.S. Participants completed an anonymous survey to identify nurses' understanding, implementation, and barriers to implementing the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) for medication safety. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Participants identified several barriers to adopting and implementing the NPSGs. Additional interventions are needed to reduce the barriers to medication safety practices for pediatric emergency nurses.