Safety of the medication process in a university hospital: preparation and administration of the nursing team

Abstract

Objective: To know the work process of health teams during medication administration in a University Hospital. Methods: This is an observational, descriptive research with a quantitative approach. The research took place at two different times. At first, a questionnaire was applied to 55 nursing technicians. The second moment of the research was characterized as observational, in which the researchers monitored 28 nursing technicians, randomly chosen, during the execution of activities related to the preparation, checking, and administration of medication by the collaborators. Results: This study made it possible to identify the main weaknesses during the medication process at a university hospital. The noise in the sectors emerged as one of the main environmental factors of the institution that interfere in the preparation stage, as well as inadequacy in hand washing and interruption by parallel conversations. Conclusion: In another aspect, during the administration of the drugs, it was observed that some important actions for the safety of the patient are not carried out by some professionals, such as those related to patient identification, giving the patient's name on the identification bracelet, not attending, patient monitoring and material disposal.