The Lived Experience of Nursing Faculty Teaching Nursing Students to Manage Medications

Background: Since the Institute of Medicine’s report To Err is Human (1999) identified medication errors as major contributor to morbidity and mortality in health care settings. This call-to-arms elicited an international push to improve patient safety. Many forces in the health care field have increased their effort to find ways to reduce that morbidity and mortality associated medication errors. This study sought to add to the body of knowledge related to reducing morbidity and mortality related to medication management.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the lived experience of nursing faculty teaching nursing students to manage medications. Specifically how is medication management being taught and how is it being evaluated.

Philosophical Underpinning: This study was developed using the theoretical framework of phenomenology as described by Husserl.

Methods: Moustakas’ methodology of engaging in investigational phenomenological research was used to operationalize the study.

Results: While analyzing the data, the themes of Thinking, Practicing, and Evaluating emerged as basic elements of the essence of the lived experience of nursing faculty teaching nursing students to manage medications. The subthemes of cognitive thinking and dosage calculation emerged in association with the Thinking theme. Focusing and improvising emerged as subthemes of the Practicing theme. The theme of Evaluating was found to include the subthemes of testing, dosage calculation, and clinical/simulation. The findings are applicable for use in conjunction with the concepts of motor learning theory.

Conclusions: The inexperience of nursing students makes them susceptible to making medication management errors. Understanding the lived experience of nursing faculty teaching nursing students to manage medications could aid in improving methods to teach nursing students to manage medications. More practice in more realistic settings could help improve nursing students’ ability to manage medications safely upon entry to the workforce. Application of Fitz and Pozner’s Motor Learning Theory could be a useful tool in teaching nursing students to manage medications safely.