Nursing Student Medication Administration Performance: A Longitudinal Assessment.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Patient Safety
• Medication Administration

Background:

• Adequate preparation for safe medication administration is crucial for nursing practice.
• Current nursing education may not sufficiently equip students with essential medication administration skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare medication administration performance between first- and final-semester nursing students.
• To evaluate the impact of an Individual Simulation-Based Experience (ISBE) on performance.
• To determine if prior nursing assistant experience influences medication administration skills.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal, descriptive, experimental, 2-group pretest-posttest design was employed.
• The Medication Administration Safety Assessment Tool evaluated 68 nursing students' performance.
• Assessments occurred post-skill acquisition, post-simulation/practice, and pre-graduation.

Main Results:

• Only one-third of senior nursing students demonstrated accurate medication administration.
• No significant performance difference was observed between first- and final-semester students.
• The long-term effect of ISBE and the impact of nursing assistant experience were not detailed in the provided abstract.

Conclusions:

• Graduating nursing students appear inadequately prepared for safe medication administration.
• The frequency and nature of practical medication administration experiences in nursing programs require critical evaluation.
• Educational strategies must be refined to ensure competency in medication administration prior to graduation.