Background: Globally, nurses are increasingly employed post-retirement, with task-shifting to nurses with lower competencies, a lack of knowledge being a barrier, all of which could lead to medication errors.Aim: To describe the impact of nurses’ age, experience, training, and skill mix on the medication administration processes in long-term care facilities (LTCFs).Setting: Nurses (N=123) working in 28 LTCFs in the Western Cape province, South Africa.Methods: A quantitative non-experimental, cross-sectional descriptive design was used. The LTCFs were divided into funded (state-subsidised) and private (for profit) facilities using a stratified sampling method and each stratum thereafter randomised to obtain equal samples from each stratum. Self-administered questionnaires with close-ended statements were used, and statistical software (SPSS version 27) to perform descriptive and inferential analyses.Results: Respondents, (27%), had more than nine years of experience, with 15.8% aged 61-70 years; and 3.5% aged 71-80 years. Some were ‘very inexperienced’ in computer use (29.3%), 35% received medication training longer than five years ago, and n=28 nurses administered medication outside their scope of practice. The highest sources of job pressure were an increase in workloads (75.6%), being under stress (42.3%), and being overworked (39.0%).Conclusion: The aging nursing workforce, although experienced, found the job demands, paperwork, and technology barriers. Outdated training and delegating medication administration to lower categories of nurses can lead to medication errors.Contribution: This study’s findings can serve as a guideline for creating succession plans, recruiting procedures, development, and training of nurses, and improving clinical practices.

Background:Older people are more prone to chronic diseases than younger ones and typically receive multiple medications. Medication rounds in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are usually lengthy, with most errors occurring during the administration phase. How nurses apply medication administration processes can affect resident outcomes.Aim: To determine the processes of medication administration followed by nurses in LTCFs as self-reported by them to identify possible factors associated with medication errors.Setting: Twenty-eight LTCFs for the elderly in the Western Cape province, South Africa.Methods: A non-experimental cross-sectional descriptive design was applied, using a quantitative approach. A stratified sampling method obtained equal samples of nurses from funded and private LTCFs, thus N = 123 respondents. Data collection was via self-administered questionnaires. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS27) was used for descriptive and inferential analysis.Results: Nurses’ self-reported medication errors such as the sharing of medication between residents (83%), the omission of doses (64.8%), neglecting to sign after medication administration (57%), and medication administered at the wrong time (50.8%). Frequent interruptions during medication rounds were the most common reason for medication errors (75.6%).Conclusion: Multiple medication administration process errors were self-reported by the nurses. LTCFs should provide mandatory medication training, monitor the adherence to correct medication administration procedures, and implement risk-management strategies.Contribution: The identified factors associated with medication errors during medication administration processes can assist with developing risk management strategies and policies in the LTCFs and improve evidence-based practice and resident outcomes.