Factors associated with continuing education needs in medication administration among school nurses.

AIM: To investigate the continuing education requirements and factors influencing school nurses' needs in relation to medication administration on school campuses. DESIGN: A total of 391 school nurses working in K-12 schools in Taiwan were invited to participate in an online questionnaire survey. METHODS: This cross-sectional study employed a probability proportionate to size technique along with a random sampling method. Data were collected from February to April 2023. RESULTS: School nurses reported a significant demand for continuing education and perceived moderate levels of stress and government support related to medication administration. Among the various dimensions, the highest demand was observed for 'definition of campus medication errors' and 'regulations for campus medical orders.' Moreover, the 'identifying drug interactions' and 'adverse drug effects and referrals' dimensions were identified as the most stressful aspects. Notably, perceived stress emerged as the sole predictive factor for continuing education demand, accounting for 16.1% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: The study found that there was a significant demand for and moderate stress related to continuing education among school nurses. Therefore, it is crucial for the government and school nursing organizations to develop targeted programs focusing on medication administration. These initiatives should be designed to enhance nurses' capabilities and reduce their stress, thereby ensuring safe medication administration on campuses. IMPACT: Continuing education enables school nurses to acquire up-to-date knowledge and improve the workflow in their practice. This study highlights a strong need for education in medication administration with a focus on 'campus medication error definitions' and 'campus medical order regulations.' The government and relevant school nursing organizations should prioritize the development and implementation of continuing education programs to decrease the school nurses' stress related to medication administration. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution. REPORTING METHOD: This study adhered to the relevant cross-sectional EQUATOR STROBE guidelines.

The Fall Risk Screening Scale Is Suitable for Evaluating Adult Patient Fall.

(1) Background: This study aimed to test the feasibility of utilizing the screening tool for fall risk assessment in adult inpatient and verify its accuracy in a medical center in Taiwan. (2) Methods: This study retrospectively collected all adult fall cases among inpatients occurring in the general wards of a medical center between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2015. This inpatient fall risk screening scale was measured by the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. (3) Results: There were 1331 (0.4%) falls among a total of 357,395 inpatients during this period. Factors predictive of falling risk included: age, consciousness, body shift assistance, use of fall risk medications, fall history, dizziness or weakness, toileting, and impaired mobility. Using the eight-factor assessment, two was the best cutoff point for identifying the fall risk group, with area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) = 0.817, sensitivity = 80.93%, specificity = 73.0%, accuracy = 73.03%, and likelihood ratio = 11.48. (4) Conclusions: The accuracy of the eight-item fall risk assessment tool created for this study was validated. These results can serve as a reference for institutions to develop more effective fall risk assessment scale for inpatients, enabling clinical nurses to identify and more comprehensively assess the groups at highest risk for falling during their hospital stay.

Work Stress, Resilience, and Professional Quality of Life Among Nurses Caring for Mass Burn Casualty Patients After Formosa Color Dust Explosion.

A Dust explosion that injured 499 patients occurred on June 27, 2015 in Taiwan. This tragedy inundated hospitals across northern Taiwan with an unprecedented number of burn patients. It caused extreme pressure and challenges for nurses. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors associated with nurses' work stress, resilience, and professional quality of life in caring for dust exposure patients. A cross-sectional survey data was collected from nurses in caring for dust explosion patients. A total of 83 nurses in burn unit, plastic surgery ward, and reconstructive microsurgery unit returned valid data for analysis. Structured questionnaires included demographic inventory, Nurse Stress Checklist, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale, and Professional Quality of Life Scale version 5. The study results showed that work stress deteriorated the professional quality of life, while resilience was a protective factor. Significant positive relationships were observed between work stress, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that resilience helps to ease the deterioration effect of secondary traumatic stress. Results confirm the importance of both work stress and resilience in explaining aspects of professional quality of life. More importantly, resilience was shown as a significant variable impacting level of secondary trauma stress. Intervention in promoting resilience should be targeted in order to reduce secondary trauma among nurses after facing disastrous mass causality incidents.