Medication administration and anxiety: an observational study with nursing students.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Medication administration errors represent a topic of great scientific interest. Medication administration is considered by nursing students a complex process during which it is easy to make mistakes; therefore, institutional measures have been adopted in order to reduce medication errors. However, it remains a critical issue in nursing practice for which several causes have been identified, including environmental factors and individual knowledge. Mistakes can be made by nurses and especially by students who must cope with additional causal factors including anxiety management. The aim was to investigate state anxiety levels among nursing students when it comes to medication administration. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: An observational study involving a convenience sample of 150 nursing students from a Northern Italy University has been conducted; they were asked to complete a questionnaire to measure the levels of state anxiety in relation to medication administration.   Results. There were no particularly high levels of state anxiety among students associated with medication administration; however, state anxiety levels were slightly higher in third-year students than in second-year students, and this is most likely due to the growing complexity of the medication administration process compared to the lack of experience.   Conclusions. Although the results don't show statistically significant data, the effectiveness of nursing education plays a crucial role in reducing medication errors, which is why it is essential to provide suitable tools for the professionals of the future and invest in clinical simulations.

Nomophobia in healthcare: an observational study between nurses and students.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The abuse of technical devices can be considered a form of addiction that is defined in current literature as Nomophobia. The phenomenon appears to be quite widespread among nurses and nursing students, and nomophobic behaviours of professionals can lead to a reduction in the quality of the care provided. The aim of this study is to investigate the situation in a University and in a hospital in northern Italy and evaluate the levels of nomophobia among nurses and students. METHODS: An observational study was conducted with a questionnaire using a sample of nursing students and nurses.  Both of the studies had the common goal of investigating the levels of nomophobia and   evaluate the comparison between the two groups. RESULTS: In general, neither nurses nor students seem to demonstrate nomophobia's critical levels. The comparison of the daily use of the smartphone between nurses and students shows that the frequent use of students is balanced by the nurses' daily trend line that progressively decreases. Both nurses and students affirm to use their smartphones at work with a certain frequency although, especially among the students, it is usually for appropriate and justified reasons. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to consider the development of an educational project that regulates the use of smartphones, explaining the meaning of nomophobia, right from the first year of the University experience so as to correctly address the students'  (and future professionals') behaviours  to make them aware of the misuse of mobile phones, especially in the clinical setting that can easily cause distractions and consequently irreversible  errors.