Educational audit on drug dose calculation learning in a Tanzanian school of nursing

Abstract

Background: Patient safety is a key concern for nurses; ability to calculate drug doses correctly is an essential skill to prevent and reduce medication errors. Literature suggests that nurses' drug calculation skills should be monitored. Objective: The aim of the study was to conduct an educational audit on drug dose calculation learning in a Tanzanian school of nursing. Specific objectives were to assess learning from targeted teaching, to identify problem areas in performance and to identify ways in which these problem areas might be addressed. Methods: A total of 268 registered nurses and nursing students in two year groups of a nursing degree programme were the subjects for the audit; they were given a pretest, then four hours of teaching, a post-test after two weeks and a second post-test after eight weeks. Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in correct answers in the first post-test, but none between the first and second post-tests. Particular problems with drug calculations were identified by the nurses / students, and the teacher; these identified problems were not congruent. Conclusion:Further studies in different settings using different methods of teaching, planned continuing education for all qualified nurses, and appropriate pass marks for students in critical skills are recommended.

Healthcare professionals' level of medication knowledge in Africa: a systematic review

“…Without specific disease focus (27 questions; 6 papers). Six papers (14%) with 27 medication-related knowledge questions did not have a specific disease focus (grouped under 'other' in Table 2) [16,18,[75][76][77][78]. Questions were more general including self-medication, topical medications (antipain and antibiotics), dose calculation and prescribing errors.…”

An Evaluation of Drug Dosage Calculation Knowledge and Proficiency among Newly Hired Nurses in Private Tertiary Care Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan

“…Recent literature defines wrong drug dosage error as an inconsistency between the dose administered and the dose prescribed (Wright, 2010). Medication safety is a major concern and a global issue related to quality and safety of patient care (Savage, 2015;Shamsuddin & Shafie, 2012). A study conducted on economic measurement of medical errors in hospital setting reported that 44,000 to 98,000 medical errors cause serious adverse event every year in the United States (David, Gunnarsson, Waters, Horblyuk, & Kaplan, 2013).…”

“…Mathematical and dosage calculation proficiency is very important skill for nurses in order to ensure patient safety and delivery of quality care (Athanasakis, 2012;Cheragi, et al, 2013;Fleming, et al, 2014;Savage, 2015;Sulosaari et al, 2015;Wright, 2004). Recent review of literature reports that presently medication errors are focused in healthcare in the light of official reports in United States and the United Kingdom that highlighted the significant of medication errors occurring in hospitals.…”

Development and Evaluation of Multimedia Software of Vital Drug Prescription and Calculation Principles

“…1 One of the main tasks of nurses and nursing students is the correct drug dose calculation. 2,3 Therefore, students must have the necessary knowledge and ability in the fields of pharmacology and mathematical computation. 4 One of the most important causes of medication mistakes is incorrect drug dose calculation and low pharmacological knowledge, 5 which can lead to prolonged hospitalization and cost increases and in some cases may lead to irreparable damage and even the death of patients.…”