Impact of Simulation-Enhanced Pharmacology Education in Prelicensure Nursing Education

Abstract

Student and novice nurses are susceptible to committing medication errors related to lack of experience. To address medication safety, a quasi-experimental design (N = 120) was used to test the effect of adding simulation to an undergraduate nursing pharmacology course on students' confidence and competence, medication adverse events, and observed medication administration practices. Students who received simulation-enhanced pharmacology demonstrated important improvements in medication administration safety. Implementing simulation in nursing pharmacology curriculum is consistent with recommendations to implement Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competencies into nursing education.

Skill acquisition of safe medication administration through realistic simulation: an integrative review

“…Medication administration is an activity that can be developed individually. Some authors have adopted scenarios in which students participated individually (24,26,28,32,37) , in pairs (25,(34)(35) or in groups (27,30) . It was not possible to establish, however, if there are differences between the use of individual scenarios or with more than one student in promoting competence in safely administering medications, therefore studies are needed to ascertain this aspect.…”

“…USA Impact of Simulation-Enhanced Pharmacology Education in Prelicensure Nursing Education (35) Jill Steiner Sanko, Mary Mckay 2017 Nurse Educator USA…”

“…Of the total of 14 studies reviewed, compared to experimental group students, who experienced teaching based on simulation, only 1 study (7.1%; Level 3) showed that students who experienced a traditional approach (control group) showed better scores in the self-assessment of competence for medication administration (35) . Furthermore, another 3 (21.4%; Level 3) studies did not show differences between the simulation strategy and traditional teaching with regard to the acquired knowledge (24) and the students' practical performance for medication administration (25)(26) .…”

“…Education in Prelicensure Nursing Education (35) To test the effect of simulation on undergraduate nursing students on confidence, competence and adverse events in medication administration practice.…”

The space to make mistakes: allocating responsibility and accountability for nursing student-committed medication errors

“…Theory-practice gap: a theory-practice gap is the gap between the theoretical or evidence-based knowledge gained by the student in the course of their education and the ability to implement such knowledge in clinical nursing practice (Greenway, Butt, & Walthall, 2019). While theory-practice gaps are considered quite commonplace in nursing (Greenway et al, 2019;Sanko & Mckay, 2017), there is a concern that such gaps may contribute to the commission of medication errors in the clinical setting. Students express anxiety that they are not being taught (or that their courses are not adequately demonstrating)…”