Abstract:

Athabasca University (AU), Canada’s Open University, allows students from across Canada and around the world to pursue their educational goals in an online environment. AU offers a unique opportunity for students with an educational background and practice experience in the field of nursing to complete a Bachelor of Nursing (BN) degree.

AU’s BN program is competency-based; it is designed to ensure that graduates provide safe, competent, and ethical care to patients (College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta, 2013). It is important to note that, medication errors are the leading cause of patient safety incidents in health care (Fleming, Brady, & Malone, 2014; World Health Organization, WHO, 2017). Consistent with nursing research studies, approximately 30% of nursing students in the AU program have challenges with accurately calculating medication dosages (Bagnasco et al, 2016). Incorrect calculation of medication dosages leads to medication errors and unsafe administration of medications (Bagnasco et al, 2016; Fleming et al, 2014). The subsequent effect on patients can result in harm, disability, and death (WHO 2017).

To support student learning and safe medication administration in clinical practice, a comprehensive and innovative digital strategy was developed. Teaching and learning practices as well as a substantive evaluation were instrumental. A variety of supportive digital learning activities were developed and curated including: an online self-study module, open educational resources, practice questions with links for remediation, and demonstration videos. Synchronous, online, live video conferencing sessions were held for students who required remediation and instructor support.

The objectives for this presentation are to:
(1) describe the comprehensive, innovative digital strategies implemented to support nursing students to be able to safely administer medications to patients;
(2) share teaching and learning insights related to this digital strategy;
(3) explore potential possibilities related to extending this digital strategy to other courses and programs.

References:
[1] Bagnasco, A., Galaverna, L., Aleo, G., Grugnetti, A., Rosa, F., & Sasso, L. (2016). Mathematical calculation skills required for drug administration in undergraduate nursing students to ensure patient safety: A descriptive study: Drug calculation skills in nursing students. Nursing Education in Practice, 16(1), 33-39. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2015.06.006. Epub 2015 Jun 24.
[2] College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (2013, May). Entry-to-practice competencies for the registered nurses profession. Retrieved from http://www.nurses.ab.ca/content/dam/carna/pdfs/DocumentList/Standards/RN_EntryPracticeCompetencies_May2013.pdf
[3] Fleming, S., Brady, A. M., & Malone, A. M. (2014). An evaluation of the drug calculation skills of registered nurses. Nurse Education in Practice, 14(1), 55-61. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2013.06.002
[4] World Health Organization (2017). Medication without harm: Global patient safety challenge on medication safety. Geneva, Switzerland. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/patientsafety/medication-safety/medication-without-harm-brochure/en/

Keywords:

Digital strategies, innovative, online, teaching and learning.