Safe medication administration by nursing students : pharmacology in a nursing curriculum - an initial review of literature

The safe administration of medications to clients in a health care environment is a responsibility of any nurse licensed to perform such a duty. For undergraduate student nurses within Australia, the process of learning safe administration occurs at various stages in their undergraduate program. The learning process generally involves theoretical and practical elements. The practice component encompasses student learning in the on and off campus clinical settings. The off campus setting involves students applying their learning with ‘real clients’ within the health care environment. There is a plethora of literature, which highlights factors that contribute to nurses administering medication safely in the health care environment, particularly in relation to error. However, this literature is not generally related to undergraduate student experiences. Understanding the factors that influence safe medication administration by students is necessary to facilitate development of curricula that promotes best practice whilst also ensuring that strategies are put in place to ensure safe practice when students are in the clinical setting. This paper presents a review of part of the literature in relation to pharmacology in nursing programs. Gaps in the literature will be identified and suggestions made regarding areas for potential research.