MENT OF MEDICATION SAFETY MEASURES USED IN EVERYDAY PRACTICE IN PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE UNITS AT PEDIATRIC CAIRO UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

Medications are of a great benefit to patient's lives for relieving pain or curing illness. Medications may be very dangerous if improperly used, moreover medications' safety is one of the highest priorities of nursing practice, a matter of considerable concern for all health team members. Medication errors produce a variety of problems for patients ranging from minor discomfort to substantial morbidity that may prolong hospitalization or lead to death and risk of litigation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the medication safety measures used in every day practice. The study was conducted at the Pediatric Cairo University Hospital. All critical care units of the hospital were included in the study. A convenient sample consisting of all staff nurses who are giving direct care and working three shifts were recruited. The tool used a socio demographic data sheet, and a "Medication Safety Measures Evaluation Tool for Nurses" to assess safety of medication in every day practice. It contains 10 domains with a total of (91) items representing safe medication use. The result of the study indicated the unsafe use of medication safety measures. all items of the Medication Safety Measures Evaluation tool showed statistically significant differences between staff nurses and the head nurses' responses except for the Staff competency and education. The study recommended that safety measures for safe medication practice should be applied in the hospital, and an educational program for all hospital and medical staff in all medication recording and administration process especially for nurses to develop and maintain pediatric medications knowledge base.