Impact of Dimensional Analysis Teaching Strategy on Reducing Medication Errors in B.Sc. Nursing Students

Author: Manjinder Kaur, Parvesh Saini and Gopal Singh Charan

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Abstract

Medication errors are a significant and pervasive issue in healthcare, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality rates. Nurses primarily aim to promote and enhance human health. Medication errors, which are a prevalent issue affecting patient care, pose a significant threat to health worldwide. A quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a teaching strategy that involved using the dimensional analysis approach for drug dose calculation (DDCP), with the aim of reducing medication errors among B.Sc. nursing students in Amritsar. Purposive sampling was used to select 182 nursing students. The result showed a statistically significant difference in the medication calculation errors related to DDCP posttest scores between the two groups (U = 0.001, p < 0.05). Hence, it can be deduced that the intervention applied in the experimental group led to a significant reduction in DDCP medication calculation errors when compared to the control group. The researcher encountered challenges that nursing students had a lack of familiarity with dimensional analysis, and the process was time-consuming and mathematically complex, which could lead to errors in medication dosing. The study highlighted that using dimensional analysis as a teaching strategy has the potential to significantly reduce medication errors in nursing students by improving their ability to accurately calculate medication dosages

Keywords

Medication errors, nursing students, dimensional analysis

Conclusion

The study concluded that the implemented teaching strategy effectively improved B.Sc. nursing students' knowledge of dimensional analysis for drug dose calculation, reducing medication errors and enhancing patient care quality. The results emphasize the importance of incorporating effective teaching strategies in nursing education to develop competent students. This study contributes to nursing education knowledge and can guide the development of strategies to improve students' skills and ultimately, patient outcomes and healthcare quality.

References

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How to cite this article

Manjinder Kaur, Parvesh Saini and Gopal Singh Charan (2023). Impact of Dimensional Analysis Teaching Strategy on Reducing Medication Errors in B.Sc. Nursing Students. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(3): 614-617.