Create a one-page patient education tool that explains usage of a medication and factors that can affect outcomes

ASSESSMENT 2

OVERVIEW

Create a one-page patient education tool that explains usage of a medication and factors that can affect outcomes.

Then, write 2 pages in which you explain how the tool promotes patient safety and quality outcomes, and adheres to the principles and practices of cultural competence.

CONTEXT

Do any of these sound familiar?

“I felt better right away, so I did not think I had to take the rest of the medicine.”

“Every time I took it, I threw up, so I just did not take it anymore.”

“I lost my health insurance a couple of months ago and cannot afford my medication all the time.  I take it when I can afford to buy it.  This is better than nothing, right?”

In addition to administering medications, nurses are assigned the responsibility of educating patients about the proper use of the medications that have been prescribed for them.  Not an easy task! With all the demands on a nurse’s time, it is easy to fall into the habit of reciting instructions without taking the time to make sure those instructions have been understood.  When considering patient education, you have to understand the differences between drug reactions, interactions, allergies, and individual variations in drug responses.

In order to promote better patient safety and quality outcomes, the instruction that nurses provide must be patient-centered and clearly understood.  Proper education helps patients learn about their medications, how to take them correctly, avoid potentially harmful errors or drug interactions, and have the desired quality outcome.

Medication errors can occur at any point in the drug administration process. As the last person who touches a medication before the patient actually takes it, it is vital that nurses are familiar with the process of administration and be able to evaluate any discrepancies.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below

How do the rights of patient medication affect the ability of a nurse to make sure a patient receives medication that is ordered in a safe, effective manner?

What types of communication tools, such as the Pyxis machine, facilitate effective communication and reduce or eliminate medication errors?

RESOURCES

Anderson, P., & Townsend, T. (2015). Preventing high-alert medication errors in hospital patients. American Nurse Today, 10(5), 18–23.

Cadwell, S. M., & McDaniel Hohenhaus, S. (2011). Medication errors and secondary victims. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 37, 562–563.

Cleary-Holdforth, J., & Leufer, T. (2013). The strategic role of education in the prevention of medication errors in nursing: Part 2. Nurse Education in Practice, 13(3), 217–220.

Cohen, M. R. (2015). Medication errors. Nursing, 45(3), 72.

Leufer, T., & Cleary-Holdforth, J. (2013). Let’s do no harm: Medication errors in nursing: Part 1. Nurse Education in Practice, 13(3), 213–216.

Sequeira, R. P. (2015). Patient safety in medical education: Medication safety perspectives. Indian Journal of Pharmacology, 47(2), 135–136.

The Joint Commission. (2015). 2015 National Patient Safety Goals. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/standards_information/npsgs.aspx

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2015). MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/

Institute for Safe Medication Practices. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ismp.org/

ASSESSMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Imagine your supervisor has asked you to develop a patient education tool for new medication starts in your current area of practice.  This tool needs to provide important information to the patient, yet be concise enough to require no more than one page.

Preparation

Review the suggested list of possible topics in Part 1 of the Requirements

Requirements

Complete both Part 1 and Part 2 of this assessment.

You may submit both parts in one document or submit them as separate documents.

Be sure you complete both parts!

Submit a total of 4–5 pages.

Write no more than one page for Part 1.

Write 2–3 pages, plus a separate reference page, for Part 2.

Part 1: Patient Education Tool

Complete the following:

1. Choose one of the following topics as the basis for your patient education tool: CHOOSE A TOPIC YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH AND WRITE ABOUT IT.

• Antibiotics (Amoxil/Amoxicillin) for pediatric ear infections.
• Statin therapy (Zocor/Simvastatin) for a newly diagnosed patient with hypercholesterolemia.
• Antihypertensive (ACE inhibitors/Lisinopril/Zestril) for a patient who was discovered to have hypertension at a health screening at work.
• Drugs for treating gastric acidity (Proton pump inhibitors/antacids/H2 blockers) for a patient complaining of chronic indigestion and heartburn.
• Ear drops or eye drops (or both) for an elderly patient.
• Any newly released medication for a patient in your area of practice. This might be a new drug for diabetes, hypertension, or arthritis or a new antibiotic.

Include the following in your patient education tool:

1. Explain appropriate use of the medication.
2. Identify specific factors (age, access, culture, and so on) that may affect the efficacy of the medication.
3. Describe possible chemical interactions, side effects, or other negative reactions patients need to be aware of.
4. Explain correct handling, storage, and disposal of the medication.
5. Include any other information you feel would be beneficial and promote patient safety and quality outcomes.

You may format Part 1, the patient education tool, any way you wish, but be sure it is logical and understandable by the typical patient who would use it.  Feel free to include pictures or diagrams to reinforce the information.

Part 2: Evidence-Based Practice

1. Provide evidence for the information you included in the patient education tool:
2. Explain how the information in the patient education tool promotes patient safety and quality outcomes.
3. Explain how the patient education tool adheres to the principles and practices of cultural competence. In other words, is the tool appropriate for all cultures, genders, ages, et cetera; or could it be easily adapted for specific needs?

Format Part 2 according to APA guidelines. This is not a document you would provide to a patient but, for this assessment, it will provide faculty with the academic and professional principles necessary to evaluate your work.

Additional Requirements

At least 2 current scholarly or professional resources.

For Part 2 only:

Use Times New Roman font, 12 point, double-spaced font.

GRADING GUIDE

1. Explains the appropriate use of a medication and the importance of following the instructions in terms of quality patient outcomes.
2. Explains how specific factors may affect the efficacy of a medication.
3. Describes possible chemical reactions, side effects, or other negative reactions a patient may experience from a medication and explains the actions a patient should take.
4. Explains correct handling, storage, and disposal of a medication and includes a brief rationale of why these instructions are important.
5. Explains how a patient education tool promotes patient safety related to pharmacology and how the tool benefits both patients and nurses.
6. Explains how a patient education tool adheres to the principles and practices of cultural competence, including differences of gender and age, and describes how the tool could be modified for other individual differences.
7. Writes clearly and logically with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; uses relevant evidence to support a central idea.
8. Correctly formats paper, citations, and references with no errors.