Medication administration is an important aspect of every day nursing practice. In carrying out this role, nurses utilize their previously learned knowledge guided by policies and procedures of the institution where they practice. Globally the errors associated with medication administration have increased to great extent. These errors can be classified as incident or associated errors that can lead to devastating consequences for both patients and nurses.

Purpose:

This paper aims to assess the impact of reinforcing medication steps, policies and procedures on the nursing practice of medication administration.

Method:

An interventional project was conducted in an inpatient unit of a tertiary care university hospital from January, 2007 – January, 2008, with verbal consent, every month 5 registered nurses were observed for their medication administration practices utilizing an assessment tool (hospital point prevalence audit tool). The major variables included direct medication error and associated errors. In 12 months period 5 errors and 46 associated errors were reported. In-service sessions were conducted for all RNs with an objective to reinforce the importance of medication administration techniques and ways to reduce the associated error rate. In these sessions the policies and procedure of the institution were emphasized.

Result:

The outcome of the project will be measured utilizing the same assessment tool (point prevalence). Both the findings will be compared and the impact of teaching in bringing change in practice will be analyzed.

Conclusion:

Medication administration is a significant nursing practice issue and continuing education in this area can yield safe medication administration practices.