Nursing Education for Medication

Nurses must be familiar with many types of medication.

Administering medications is one of the many responsibilities of a registered nurse. A simple drug error can have devastating consequences. Much of nursing education focuses on the skills needed to give medications and catch mistakes before they happen.

Types

Medications can be given by mouth, absorbed from skin patches, injected, given intravenously, inhaled or inserted rectally or vaginally. Nurses learn about and practice each of these methods while in school.

Pharmacology

RN students have to memorize information about common drugs, such as the possible side effects, contraindications, typical dosage amounts and how each medication affects the body. This knowledge prepares them to notice adverse reactions in patients and catch mistakes made by those who prescribed the medications.

Five Rights

The five rights of medication administration are right patient, right drug, right time, right dose and right route. Students learn to check each of these for accuracy at least twice before giving medication.

Drug Calculations

Nurses often have to perform drug calculations to figure out intravenous infusion rates and convert dosage units. Nursing education emphasizes accurate math skills to prevent drug errors.

Documentation

Proper documentation includes information such as the time a medication was given and how the patient responded. RN students learn how to document events correctly. They must also be able to interpret information documented by others.

References

• "Fundamentals of Nursing"; Berman, Snyder, Kozier, and Erb; 2008
• enotes.com: Administration of Medication