Role Of The Nurse In Safe Administration Of Oral Medication Nursing Essay

Role Of The Nurse In Safe Administration Of Oral Medication Nursing Essay Administration of medicines to adults who are physically ill or injured is part of the adult nurses responsibility to provide holistic care and promote health (Veitch Christie 2007). Medicines are manufactured in several forms and can be administered by different routes. According to the form of the medications there are different requirements and equipment for their administration and storage (Burton and Donaldson 2007). This essay will focus on the administration of oral medicines, the standards and the legal requirements for their safe administration. The essay will also look at areas where problems are most likely to arise and will describe the measures which nurses can take to ensure patients safety when administering oral medicines. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) defines patient safety as a process which involves identification, analysis and management of risks and incidents, including medication errors so potential or actual harm to patients can be prevented or minimised. Medication errors have a significant impact on patients, their families and health professionals involved. They can compromise patients safety and result in actual harm to patients. A total of 72,482 medication errors of which 14,111 caused harm of various extents to patients and 37 resulted in death were reported to the NPSA (2009) in one year. The same report showed that nearly half of the incidents were concerned with administration of medicines. Another report by the Department of Health (2004) estimated the cost of medication errors in NHS hospitals between  £200-400 million per year. Therefore it is vital that nurses adopt safe, methodical and skilled approach to administration of medicines. LEGAL The management of all medicines in the United Kingdom is governed by several legislations, the Standards for Medicine Management (2008) and the Standards of conduct, performance and ethics issued by the NMC (2008). The Standards outline the nurses responsibilities in relation to the current UK legislations. Burton Donaldson (2007) summarise these legislations in the latest edition of the Foundations for Nursing Practice. The Medicines Act (1968) regulates the requirements by which medicines are manufactured, prescribed and administered. The Medicines Act (1968) also classifies medicines into four categories which are Prescription only medicines (POMs), Pharmacy only medicines (Ps), General sales medicines (GSLs) and Control drugs (CDs).The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations (1985) provide the legal framework for the management of the controlled drugs and differentiate medicines according to the level of harm they may cause. The Mental Capacity Act (2005) provides the foundations for care delivery including medicine administration to people who lack the ability to make informed decisions. For Scotland these foundations are contained within The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act (2003) and The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act (2000). These regulations are in place to assist and guide nurses and are fundamental in protecting patient safety. Anex1 of the Standards for Medicine Management (NMC 2008) specifies the nurses responsibility to comply with these regulations. However the administration of medication is not solely a mechanistic task to be performed and requires more than just following written instructions (NMC 2004). In respect to oral medicines and their administration the nurse should take a person centred approach and assess and assist each patient individually according to patients general condition. Kelly and Wright (2009) draw attention on the high number of medication administration errors in patients with swallowing difficulties, where physiological abnormalities can lead to difficulties in swallowing of liquids or tablets. Griffith (2005) suggests that alternative form of medicines should be considered if patients have difficulties swallowing tablets. The nurses responsibility in this respect is to perform the initial and ongoing assessment of patients condition to establish the suitability of certain type of oral medicine and the ability of the patient to take this medicine (NMC 2008). Physical or mental health conditions could also have an impact on the medication compliance by patients leading to crushing, mixing or disguising medicines in food or drink (Kelly Wright 2009). The Department of Health (2010) and The National Prescribing Centre (2010) outline the parameters and principles for safe mixing of medicines and the nurses role in this relation. Following these principles when nurses consider mixing of medicines they should always act in line with local policies, consult a pharmacist and obtain written instructions and also obtain consent from patients. Crushing and mixing of medicines without a careful assessment and justification could present safety risks for patients and nurses (Paparella 2010) because of their chemical formulations. Examples of these are the enteric coated tablets, slow released formulations and products containing carcinogenic substances. Crushing or splitting of these medicines may lead to undesirable effects for example unintended rapid absorption. Griffith (2005) points out the legal consequences of crushing tablets. If crushing of oral formulation results in harm for the patient the nurse responsible will be liable for negligence. Paparella (2010) suggests simple steps such as careful consideration whether a tablet is safe to crush and consultations with pharmacist could significantly minimise the risk for patients and nurses. It is also essential that nurses have a sufficient level of knowledge of how medicines interact with the human body in order to be able to observe if they achieve the desired therape utic effect and to avoid any adverse reactions (NMC 2008). Covert administration of medicines represents not only safety risks to patients but also has legal and ethical aspects which nurses have to consider before making a decision for such action (Griffith 2007). Although most of the nurses do not prescribe medicines it has been found that the administration of a wrong dose of medicine causes the largest number of deaths and serious harm to patients, followed by the administration of wrong medicine and omitted or delayed medicine (NPSA 2009). Subsequently, administering wrong dose of medicines has been linked to poor mathematical skills (Pentin Smith 2010). The nurses responsibility in connection with administering correct doses of oral medicines is outlined in the Standards for medicine administration (NMC 2008) which states the nurses must be aware of the patients care plan, check prescription and dosage before administering medicines. Administering of a wrong oral medicine is often associated with similar medicine or patient names, packaging, labelling or poor storage systems (NPSA 2009). This is particularly common issue in nursing and care homes where no wrist bands for identification are used (Pountney 2010). CONCLUSION Safe administration of medicines requires a methodical approach that follows local policies (Burton,C Donaldson,J 2007).

Essay --

I would like to present myself as a prospective candidate for Master’s Program in Mechanical Engineering at Masdar Institute of science and technology. I graduated from NED University of Engineering and Technology as a Mechanical Engineer in December 2011. The reason I opted mechanical engineering was my inclination towards the subjects relating mechanics of solids. My interest in this field grew to such an extent that I became passionate of taking the knowledge gained in the classrooms to the next level and was successful in securing the final year project of â€Å"Designing of Pipeline for Refinery Effluent†, a real time industrial assignment of Pakistan Refinery Limited which is considered as one of the leading oil and gas companies in Pakistan. To secure such an industrial project, which not only needed research potential but also the aspect of understanding the dynamics involved in the industry, I prepared myself during my bachelors by participating in numerous projects and received multiple national awards for my work, as a leader and a member of team for the design and fabrication of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in DBFC (Design Build and Fly) organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). I was also selected for the renowned international competition Shell Eco Marathon Asia, to design an energy efficient car. These projects not only gave me hands-on experience in dealing with composites and testing my knowledge, they also gave me the chance to explore the field of fluid mechanics and aerodynamics. Along with these notable competitions, I regularly took part in local engineering competitions and seminars to actively apply the knowledge I gained during my bachelors. Having done these mechanical ... ...ill help me in understanding the analytical techniques and instruments, while my software skills will assist me in handling the problems related to modeling and simulation. It will also enable me to execute the challenging tasks to the fullest of my abilities. I believe Masdar Institute is the perfect institute which provides the right blend of research and academics needed in the professional world and I am hopeful that this combination would prove to be an asset for me in the future to come. I envision a career in this field as a culmination of my interests and I would appreciate the opportunity to pursue this at Masdar. Admission in the master's program at this esteemed institute would be a milestone in my academic, professional and personal life and ambitions. If accepted, I will be dedicated to perform at a level that will make both the university and I proud.

Pre-Interview Essay

Pre-interview Essay 30/01/2013 I would like to follow the CELTA course for quite a few reasons. To begin with, and more importantly, I want to do the course so as to obtain the right qualifications for and English tutor. I think that the CELTA course can provide me, not only with the necessary teaching skills, but also with the highest knowledge of the subject.Moreover, if one already has the education and skills needed this course gives him the opportunity to keep up to date with the English language, because as it is widely known language, in general, keeps evolving and changing. Another important reason that makes me want to follow the course is the fact that CELTA diploma is recognized thru out the world. That is a great advantage as one has the opportunity to work at almost any country he desires.Needless to say that this is of great benefit not only to one’s teaching experience but to him as a person, as he will be able to broaden his horizons by meeting new educational systems and cultures. I believe that I would be a successful teacher of the English language because I am very interested in it, therefore, I would constantly try to enrich my knowledge around it and do my best to be up to date, not only with the language itself but with educational systems so that my students would get the best education possible from me.I am of the opinion that you must love what you do so as to be good at it and teaching is what I love. Other than that, I feel that I am the kind of person that can pass his knowledge to the others. I am friendly and easy-going which makes people around me feel comfortable and able to trust me. On the other hand, I am very organized and focused on my goals, even a little bit of a control freak which I believe make me better at what I do and are some important qualities for a successful teacher.

Evaluating The Security Of A System Or Computer Network

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