For nursing students, it is important to have a sound understanding of medication administration safety in preparation for their role as registered nurses.

Nurses are at the forefront of medication administration, so it is essential that they are aware of the principles relating to the safe and legal administration of medication. In addition, nurses have an ongoing responsibility to maintain their knowledge of current pharmacology.

Australia has established quality and safety standards regarding medication administration to highlight the professional expectations in relation to best practice. Medication errors are cited as one of the most common causes of unintended harm to patients, with one third of errors occurring during the administration phase, highlighting this as a high-risk activity for nurses (Cloete, 2015). There are many factors that can contribute to medication administration errors.

The following module will explore factors associated with medication administration and provide guidelines on how to reduce the risks of medication error.

Medication administration

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