Nurses' Attitudes Toward the Single Checking of Medications

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Medication Safety
• Healthcare Policy

Background:

• Many healthcare services have adopted single medication checking over double checking.
• Nurses' attitudes towards single medication checking remain unclear.
• This study investigates nurses' perspectives in a long-standing single-checking environment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore registered nurses' attitudes towards single medication checking and administration.
• To understand the impact of single checking on professional accountability and drug administration control.
• To identify factors influencing nurses' attitudes regarding medication checking policies.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey design utilizing the Single Checking Administration Medication Scale-II.
• Data collected from 299 registered nurses at a metropolitan teaching hospital in Victoria, Australia.
• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) used to analyze themes in nurses' attitudes.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported increased professional accountability and control over drug administration with single checking.
• Single checking was associated with improved efficiency, reduced administration time, and fewer interruptions.
• Adherence to drug administration procedures and facilitated drug knowledge updates were noted.
• Significant variations in attitudes were observed based on appointment and clinical experience.

Conclusions:

• Understanding nurses' attitudes is crucial for healthcare services to optimize medication safety policies.
• Accountability, efficiency, and knowledge are key factors in nurses' medication administration practices.
• Demographic characteristics significantly correlate with nurses' attitudes toward single medication checking.