Nursing Student Medication Administration Practice in the Clinical Setting: A Descriptive Study.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Patient Safety
• Medication Administration

Background:

• Nurses play a critical role in preventing medication errors and ensuring patient safety.
• Educational interventions and increased practice are recommended to equip nursing students with safe medication administration skills.
• The actual frequency and quality of nursing students' medication administration practice in clinical settings remain largely unquantified.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the frequency and quality of medication administration practice among prelicensure nursing students in clinical settings.
• To provide a quantified account of nursing students' real-world medication administration experiences.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional descriptive study design was employed.
• A convenience sample of 222 prelicensure nursing students participated.
• Students completed an electronic survey after each clinical day for one semester to record medication administration experiences.

Main Results:

• On average, participants reported one medication administration experience per semester.
• Students administered an average of two different drugs.
• The majority of medication administration experiences involved a single patient and were supervised by bedside registered nurses (RNs).

Conclusions:

• Medication administration opportunities for nursing students in clinical settings are inconsistent and unpredictable.
• Variability exists based on healthcare facility policies and nursing program guidelines.
• Further research is needed to understand and potentially improve nursing student medication administration practice.