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