Medication Management in Nursing

Perform safe handling and administration of medication

Type

Domain

Competency Area

Patient Care

Levels

Assist in serving of oral and topical medications

Assist patients with oral and topical medications as instructed

Recognise and report common drug allergy reactions

Ensure proper storage and disposal of medication

Adhere to the five rights of non-parenteral medications administration

Manage administration of non-parenteral medication

Administer medication in accordance to organisational guidelines and/or protocol

Educate patients or caregivers on the drug regimen, purpose, and side effects of the medication

Assess patients’ responses to medication including side effects and therapeutic effects

Document and report on the medication administered and its effects on patients

Communicate drug allergy reactions resulting from the medication administered to charge nurse

Assist in medication incidence management

Manage administration of medications including controlled drugs

Adhere to the five rights of medications administration

Apply concepts of mathematics in performing drug calculation and reconstitution

Monitor use of infusion pump in delivering parenteral medication including patient- controlled analgesia device

Establish intravenous access for parenteral medication administration

Observe aseptic technique in preparation of parenteral medication

Evaluate and monitor patients’ responses to parenteral medication administered including drug allergy and adverse drug reaction

Initiate interventions to manage extravasation and/or infection resulting from parenteral medication administration

Administer controlled drugs in accordance with legal requirements and with scope of practice

Adhere to occupational safety precaution in administration of cytotoxic drugs

Manage medication incidents including drug allergies and adverse drug reaction in accordance to organisational procedures.

Escalate and report drug allergies and adverse drug reactions in accordance to institutional policies

Enforce standards of safe medication practices

Participate in medication reconciliation in accordance to institutional policies

Conduct audits on medication safety

Analyse incident reports to identify contributing factors to medication incidents

Enforce infection control measures in relation to medication administration

Enforce occupational safety measures related to cytotoxic drugs

Investigate medication- related adverse events

Maintain up-to-date on best practices in medication management

Utilise quality and patient safety indicators to promote medication safety

Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to address challenges in medication management

Drive medication safety

Lead investigation of medication-related adverse events through quality tools including root cause analysis and failure modes and effects analysis

Institute quality assurance programmes to improve medication safety

Align programmes and initiatives with national and organisational medication safety priorities