THE RATIO AND CAUSES OF MEDICATION ERRORS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE ACCORDING TO THE PERCEPTION OF FOURTH-YEAR NURSING STUDENTS AT PHAM NGOC THACH UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE

Abstract

Objectives: Determine of the ratio of medication error among fourth-year Nursing students in clinical practice; identify the common types of medication error and causes of medication error according to the perception of fourth-year Nursing students. Methods:Cross-sectional description study was implemented among 112 fourth-year Nursing students at the academic year 2018-2022 of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine. Results: The ratio of Nursing students making medication errors during clinical practice was 18,8%. 05 types of common medication errors of nursing students during clinical practice according to the students’ perception include: Inadequate observation after taking medication (78,6%); preparing drugs with incorrect technique (60,7%); incorrect time interval between doses (58,9%); wrong dose (55,4%) and dose skipping (50,9%). Students’ perception of common causes of medication errors includes personal cause: Lack of knowledge about medication (3,88 ± 0,87); inexperience (3,88 ± 0,85); insufficient sleep (3,88 ± 0,78); stress (3,88 ± 0,77) and practice of medication procedures in the clinical department different from school (3,62 ± 0,98); systemic cause: Unclear medical order (unreadable handwriting) (3,96 ± 0,83), different drugs with similar names (3,87 ± 0,79); work overload (3,86 ± 0,84); same-shape pills (3,85 ± 0,79) and emergency Situation (3,62 ± 0,98). Conclusion:There was 18.8% of Nursing students making medication errors during clinical practice according to students’ perception. Some of the causes of medication errors regarding to students’ perception belong to personal and systemic causes. Schools and clinical practice facilities need effective solutions to overcome the common causes of medication errors among Nursing students