Medicine Management Skills for Nurses. Claire Boyd

Irbesartan Hypertension Hypertension Hypertension pril Angotensin‐converting Enzyme inhibitors Lisinopril Ramipril Quinapril Hypertension Hypertension Hypertension cillin Penicillin antibiotics Ampicillin Amoxicillin Benzylpenicillin Susceptible infections e.g. bronchitis Susceptible infections e.g. sinusitis Mild to moderate bacterial infections e.g. pneumonia sone Corticosteroids Prednisone Dexamethasone Hydrocortisone Rheumatoid arthritis Cerebral oedema Anaphylaxis

      Finally

      Before administering any drug to any patient:

       Go through the procedural steps for administering medication in your mind,

       Go through the five rights,

       Know your patient,

       Know the drug and its contraindications.

      Lastly, do not cut corners. We all have time constraints, but we must always adhere to the Code of Conduct of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015) in order to achieve safe, effective, and professional care for our patients.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

      1 What does STAT mean?

      2 What does PRN mean?

      3 What are the four parts of the medication process?

      4 What route of administration is referred to if you see INH on a prescription chart?

      5 5 A drug is presented as 1 g in 100 ml. A patient weighing 90 kg is prescribed 20 mg/kg/h of the drug.How many milligrammes per hour of the drug does the patient require?For how many millilitres per hour do you set the infusion pump?

      6 What are the five rights in regard to drug administration?

      7 How many medication errors are there estimated to be in the NHS per annum?

      8 According to the BNF, children have been classified into four groups/What are they?

      9 If you saw the drug suffix ‘olol’ what medication class do these drugs belong to?

      10 What does ADME stand for?

      KEY POINTS

       Latin abbreviations used in drug administration.

       Using your professional judgement.

       The medication process.

       The routes of drug administration.

       Examples of drug administration competencies to be signed off during placements.

       Looking at the front sheet of the prescription chart.

       Improving medication safety factors.

       The procedure for the administration of medicines.

WEB RESOURCES

      BNF for Adults: www.bnf.nice.org.uk

      BNF for Children: www.bnfc.nice.org.uk

      Electronic Medicines Compendium: www.medicines.org.uk/emc

      NMC: www.nmc.uk.org

      Government publications: www.gov.uk/government/publications/public‐spending‐statistics

        www.legislation.gov.uk

        www.england.nhs.uk/patient‐safety/national‐medicines‐safety‐programme

        www.gov.uk/government/publications/medication‐errors‐short‐life‐working‐group‐report

        www.npsa.org.uk

        www.gov.uk/government/publications/the‐national‐patient‐safety‐agency‐annual‐report‐and‐account

        www.england.hns.uk/patient‐safety/national‐medicines‐safety‐agency‐7‐key‐actions‐to‐improve‐mrdication‐safety

      Electronic Medicines Compendium: www.medicines.org.uk

      National Patient Safety Agency: www.npsa.nhs.uk

REFERENCE

      1 The Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedure (2020) (eds. Sara Lister, Justine Hofland, and Hayley Grafton. 10. Wiley

      2 NMC (2015) The Code. Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour for Nurses, Midwives, and Nursing Associates. London. www.nmc.org.uk