Planning and Implementing Disaster Drills for Undergraduate Nursing Students.

As a component of disaster response, nurses need to understand their roles in preparing for and responding to a disaster. Limited evidence regarding educating undergraduate nursing students for disasters exists. An interdisciplinary disaster drill was developed and implemented at a university nursing program. Challenges in preparing the students without giving specific details and ways of providing a more realistic experience continue to be addressed. Continued evaluation of the simulation and making identified changes to the interdisciplinary disaster drills will improve student learning and help to prepare future nurses for disasters.

Identifying Medication-Related Adverse Drug Events in Nursing Facilities in East Texas.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify the rate of adverse drug events (ADEs) and the percentage that cause harm in east Texas nursing facilities. In 2014, there were 1.4 million nursing facility residents in the United States, and approximately half take nine or more prescribed medications daily. Twenty percent of medication doses administered results in an error, putting almost half of all nursing home residents at risk for two or more medication errors daily. Close to two million medication error-related ADEs are estimated to occur in nursing facilities each year. Many ADEs lead to emergency department visits and hospitalization. DESIGN: A two-month retrospective medical chart review was completed in two medium-sized for-profit nursing facilities in rural east Texas on residents who consented or whose proxy consented to the study. The Nursing Home Adverse Drug Event trigger tool was used for chart reviews. This tool primary uses laboratory values and resident assessments to identify medication-related ADEs. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: A total of 58 charts were reviewed. There were from 2 to 13 ADEs identified per month at the nursing facilities during the study. This was extrapolated to 7.41 to 27.59 ADEs per 100 resident months. While no permanent harm or hospitalizations resulted from the identified ADEs, these findings in such a small sample size contribute to an elevated level of concern about ADE occurrence and prohibit generalizability of results. Further research is needed on a larger sample, as well as types of medication errors occurring, leading to strategies for preventing ADEs.

Revision of an undergraduate older adult health care nursing education course.

As the number of older adults continues to increase worldwide, nursing education needs to focus on this population. A revision of an undergraduate nursing course focusing on the care of older adults was completed. Content for the revised course was based on the recommendations of major nursing education organizations. Seventeen topic areas were identified, and objectives for each topic were written. Based on the objectives, classroom and clinical assignments were developed. Assignments were varied to address multiple learning styles using evolving standards of education for nursing students. The revision was piloted with one group of approximately 45 second-semester nursing students. Survey results from the students showed an increase in their comfort level with older adults. Further studies could evaluate the activities after they have been implemented longer to make further adjustments as needed to ensure the best learning for students.

Outcomes of a quality improvement project for educating nurses on medication administration and errors in nursing homes.

BACKGROUND: The Institute of Medicine has provided recommendations for preventing medication errors in nursing homes that include nursing education. Support for education on medication administration is derived from evidence, primarily in settings other than nursing homes. This quality improvement project implemented an educational program for licensed nurses to increase knowledge of medication administration and to decrease medication-related errors. METHOD: A descriptive study of 72 licensed nurses in two nursing homes was used for this project. Medication resources were provided at nursing stations in both facilities. Licensed nurses took a pretest and then watched a 35-minute education presentation. One month later, they took a posttest. RESULTS: Percentage scores on the tests were calculated. Paired t tests demonstrated an increase in nursing knowledge in one facility (p = 0.04) and no significant increase in nursing knowledge in the second. CONCLUSION: Mandatory participation by all staff members who administer medications would increase participation in the project. Multiple factors influence knowledge and medication administration in nursing homes and need further study.