Discussion Question on the Drug Administration Errors Article - Paper Example

Title of article: Drug administration errors: a study into the factors underlying the occurrence and reporting of drug errors in a district general hospital.

Journal name: Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Journal page number: 628-637

Appraise article on medication administration by Gladstone and answer the following questions

Discuss the following in 1-2sentences. Do not respond with just yes or no.

1. How does the title of the research accurately describe what the study is about?

The study identifies themes underlying occurrence and reporting of errors in drug administration. The title reflects the theme of the study.

2. Was the problem clearly stated with pertinent background and justification for the study? (Maybe in problem statement and/or significance of the study)

The problem is not well stated but the background information provided justifies the need for the study; that is, previous research shows that there are errors in drug administration but they do not explain the reasons.

3. Is the majority of the review of literature current? (References listed at the end of the article less than 10 years old from date of publication unless a classic study

Most of the references that the researcher use as sources of data are up to date since they were published less than 10 years from the date of publication hence provides pertinent information.

4. What are the research questions and/ or hypotheses?

The research questions are; what are the most common factors for nurses during drug administration? What are the outcomes of drug administration errors?

5. Are there operational definitions or terms defined or that clarify the topic studied in the article?

Operational terms are not defined in this study. The operational definitions help in the preserving unambiguous empirical testability of a problem.

6. What is the research design (descriptive, experimental, etc.) and how does it support the type of study?

Experimental design was used which supports the quantitative study by using statistical ways of solving questions.

7. Who was the sample, how was data collected?

The sample was nurse managers and trained nurses. Data was collected by use of questionnaires and interviews.

8. Were there inclusion or exclusion criteria described to be a part of this sample?

The Inclusion or exclusion criteria used random. Every nurse who was between class C and G had equal chances of participation.

9. Describe if and how the subjects protected from harm and was there appropriate approval granted and by whom?

The subjects were protected by the researcher using hand written notes to collect data from respondents since some felt that tape recording was too threatening.

10. What were the findings? Were the research questions answered?

Nurses who perform drug errors feel guilty and lose clinical confidence. The nurse teachers feel a failure that the education process did not prevent occurrence of an error.

11. What statistical tests were used to analyze the data?

The statistical tests used are pie charts, bar graphs and tables.

12. How were tables and graphs used to effectively to describe the findings? Could you determine from the tables/graphs what the findings were?

The tables and graphs are self-explanatory, clear informative titles and data was represented in clear appropriate categories.

13. Does the discussion section state whether the findings from this study support or refute previous studies?

The findings do not state any rebuttal or support to studies made before this study. The author just gives recommendations.

14. Are generalizations made to other populations based on the findings from this study?

Yes, they are because the discussion present ideas in a general perspective based on the study.

15. Are there suggestions/ recommendations made by the researcher(s) for nursing practice, education and/or research?

The author recommends nurses and managers to be given a correct definition of drug errors. There should also be recognition and monitoring of the errors. Additionally, the author recommends promotion of accurate reporting, support and education.

Critical Appraisal of Qualitative Research Article

Author(s), last name and first initial: Baker H.M.

Year of publication: 1997

Title of article: Rules outside the rules for administration of medication

Journal name: Journal of Nursing Scholarship

Journal page numbers: 155-158

Appraise the online article on medication administration by Baker and answer the questions below.

Discuss the following questions in1-2 sentences. Do not respond with just yes or no.

1. How does the title of the research accurately describe what the study is about?

It describes the autonomy that nurses take over drug administration. These are the rules that the nurses draft outside the norms of drug administration

2. Was the problem clearly stated with pertinent background and justification for the study? (May be in problem statement and/or significance of the study)

The problem was clearly stated with relevant background; having worked as a nurse, Baker is aware of how nurses behave at work by reporting inadequate errors or not following what the institution policies ask them to. This is what is exemplified in the whole study, thus justifying the problem.

3. Is the majority of the review of literature current? (References listed at the end of the article less than 10 years old from date of publication unless classic study and do the references cited support the study?

Most of the data sources used for the study are outdated since they were more than 10 years old from the date of publication. Some of the references cited support the study while some are irrelevant.

4. Are there operational definitions or terms defined and how do they clarify the study?

Operational terms are not defined in this study. The operational definitions help in the preserving unambiguous empirical testability of a problem.

5. What is the research design and how does it support a qualitative study?

Qualitative descriptive research design; research problems become the research questions drawn from previous researches which leaves gaps.

6. Who was the sample, how was data collected and were there inclusion or exclusions described?

Nurses in one large provincial hospital were the sample and the method of data collection was participant observation. There were no inclusion or exclusion criteria described in the study.

7. Describe if and how the subjects protected from harm and if there was appropriate approval granted and by whom?

The subjects privacy was protected by keeping it confidential and telling participants the truth about the scope of the research.

8. Did the methodology use one of the researchers as the instrument to interview or observe the participants?

The methodology (ethnomethodology) used as an instrument to understand the problem at hand through observation and interviewing the respondents.

9. How large was the sample and how was size determined and was it an adequate sample size?

The sample size was three wards in a large provincial acute-care hospital. This sample size was inadequate since a large hospital has many wards with many nurses and three wards would not be a representative of the whole.

10. How were data analyzed?

The researcher provided a feedback for the data collected.

11. Were the descriptions or responses bracketed, categorized or divided in anyway?

The responses were divided into three categories; the first set was embodied logic, the second was criteria for redefining errors and the third one was the one entailing serendipitous findings.

12. What were the findings? Were the research questions answered?

The findings were that the nurses were autonomous over what real errors mean. The research questions about bringing an understanding of how nurses define or redefine medication error were answered.

13. Does the discussion state whether the findings from this study support or refute previous studies?

No. The discussion just elaborates the findings of the study.

14. Are generalizations made to other populations based on the findings from this study?

Yes, they are because the discussion present ideas in a general perspective based on the study.

15. Are there suggestions/ recommendations made by the researcher(s) for nursing practice, education and/or research?

Yes. The researcher recommends more contributions by nurses to official strategic rules for administration of error to be able to differentiate between time-critical and no-time-critical medications.