High-Alert Medications, Low Awareness: Finding Critical Gaps in Nurses Knowledge in Pakistan
Introduction:
Medication errors are most common yet preventable causes of patient harm, yet they continue to occur and some bring devastating consequences. It’s much dangerous if the medicine belongs to class of High Alert Medicine, such as anticoagulants, insulins and antibiotics. Nurses being on the Frontline are responsible for medication administration, they play a major role in ensuring patient safety. However research shows that some nurses lack adequate knowledge and training which puts patient life at risk.
Research Design
Over 2300 nurses from 29 hospitals across Punjab were surveyed. The reaserchers tested their knowledge on; Administration and Regulation of high Alert drugs.
Key Findings
1: Around 84% of nurses scored below 70% indicating poor knowledge of HAM’s ( high Alert medication) administration as well as regulation.
2: Nurses in smaller district hospitals performed worse than those in urban hospitals.
3: knowledge gaps were found across all groups— age, experience and qualifications didn’t make much difference.
Challenges Faced by Nurses
1: 61% of nurses said they didn’t have a reliable person to ask.
2: More than half said they received drug instructions only verbally not in writing.
Recommendations
1: Better training in nursing schools on high Alert drugs.
2: Conducting regular refresher courses for nurses.
3: Written guidelines in every hospital to reduce confusion.