Nursing Students’ Medication Errors and Adherence to Medication Best-Practice

Background: Nursing students are at risk for committing medication administration errors (MAEs), which significantly alter the delivery of safe and effective healthcare. Purpose: To identify the medications most frequently involved in medication errors as reported by Jordanian nursing students, as well as to identify the level of nursing students’ adherence to best-practice when administering high-risk medications. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used among a convenience sample of 74 nurses. Results: A total of 74 of 110 (67.3%) questionnaires were returned. The most frequent medications subjected to MAEs were Dopamine, Dobutamine, and Insulin continuous intravenous infusion (17.2%, 16.0% and 13.5% respectively). Regarding the adherence to best-practice, nursing students adhered the most to the following best-practices: checking the patient armband prior to medication administration with a mean of 3.81 (±0.6) and bringing the MAR sheet with them when preparing a medication with a mean of 3.46 (±1.1). Conclusion: Developing an effective medication training programs in all undergraduate nursing programs in Jordanis is vital to ensure patient safety. Nursing educators in clinical and academic settings need to reinforce the importance of adherence to medication management best-practice in all courses. Close and effective supervision of students needs to be maintained throughout nursing students’ clinical training, especially during medication preparation and administration.