Medication administration competency among undergraduate nursing students in selected county referral hospitals in Kenya

Abstract

Background: Medication administration competency among nursing students is one of the key areas that help in preventing medication errors to enhance patient safety. It has been reported that the level of skills competency in medication administration among students is low. This is attributed to the theory-practice gap in training of these skills. Lack of competency to safely administer medications is an area of concern that needs to be addressed.

Objective: To assess medication administration competency among undergraduate nursing students in selected County referral hospitals in Kenya.

Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study.

Setting: Embu and Thika County Referral Hospitals, Kenya.

Subjects: One hundred and forty seven (147) undergraduate nursing students.

Results: The mean scores on the skills assessed for the three routes of medication administration; Intravenous=49.06±18.0, Intramuscular=52.98±17.1, and Oral=55.7823±18.1) were statistically significantly below the pass mark of 70% (p<0.0005). The proportion of those who passed differed with those who failed the skills assessment in all the three categories as follows, Intramuscular route (χ2 (1, n=147) =58.84, p<0.0005), Intravenous route (χ2 (1, n=147) =69.4, p<0.0005) and Oral route (χ2 (1, n=147) =44.6, p<0.0005).

Conclusion and Recommendation: The level of skills competence in medication administration was below the recommended international 70% pass mark. Nurse educators should identify the gaps in teaching and prioritize patient safety before the students become qualified health practitioners. Inclusion of the WHO medication safety curriculum into the already existing institutional undergraduate nursing curriculums is a central aspect in enhancing the medication administration process and patient safety.