AssessingCommonPracticeandBestPractice1.docx

Developing Clinical Inquiry
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Developing Clinical Inquiry

Clinical practices can vary from organization to organization, but they all have a shared mission of enhancing patient care. Nurses, therefore, have to develop clinical inquiry skills to ensure that they are continuously adhering to the organization’s best practices. Often, when nurses shift to the world of the practice, they learn from experienced nurses. As knowledgeable as these professionals are, at times, what they instill may not be a best practice but may very well be a common practice. That being said, nurses can practice their clinical inquiry through quality improvement projects, evidence-based practice, and research (Clinical Inquiry Skills in Nursing, 2020). This paper will evaluate the best ways to avoid medication errors as a clinical issue that can form the basis of clinical inquiry and analyze four scholarly articles related to medication errors.

Part 1; Identifying Research Methodologies

Article 1; Gorgich et al. (2016).

Article 2; Whitehair et al. (2014).

Article 3; Simonsen et al. (2014).

Article 4; Izadpanah et al., (2018).

A brief (1-paragraph) statement explaining why you chose this peer-reviewed article
and/or how it relates to your clinical issue of interest, including a brief explanation of the ethics of research related to your clinical issue of interest.

The prime reason for selecting this article is because it analyses various causes of medication errors from nurses’ viewpoints. The study also investigates probable approaches that can be employed to combat this clinical issue (Gorgich et al., 2016). When analyzing a clinical problem, it is imperative to establish the root causes at least or understand the factors facilitating its emergence (Clinical Inquiry Skills in Nursing, 2020). Thus, through their investigations, I can get an in-depth overview of the causes of medication errors.

I chose this scholarly material because one, it investigates prescription errors. Secondly, the article integrates a cross-sectional study of utilizing a prescription medication quiz, which somehow relates to a clinical inquiry strategy (Whitehair et al., 2014). Prescription error is a problem that falls under medication error (Kenawy & Kett, 2019). Thus, by analyzing research evaluating prescription problems, I can further expand my knowledge and highlight possible best practices to improve patient safety.

I selected this article because it assesses the relationship between medication knowledge and the risk of errors (Simonsen et al., 2014). Often, prior knowledge is perceived to determine what is termed as best practice or common practice (Wing et al., 2018). With this article’s outcomes, I can significantly assess this notion and establish how medication knowledge differences contribute to increased risks of medication errors in hospitals. I also chose this study because its participants are graduating nursing students and working registered nurses.

Izadpanah et al.’s (2018) article can play a pivotal role in informing the best practices for reducing medication errors since it analyses the cause of errors. Plus, through its findings, I can assess the frequency in which errors occur and understand different types of medication mistakes. Generally, in research, scholars must meet their ethical obligations by giving credit to those who contributed to the study. By adhering to ethical standards, researchers can promote the aim of the research, truth, accountability, and minimize errors (Dooly et al., 2017). Therefore, in relation to the clinic issue, I will assess how research respects privacy and confidentiality and follows informed consent.

A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the aims of the research of each peer-reviewed
article.

According to Gorgich et al. (2016), medication errors are a severe issue that affects patient safety and can even lead to death. For these reasons, they hope to shed light on the problem by investigating its causes and strategies for preventing them from nurses and nursing student’s points of view.

Whitehair et al. (2014) believe that limited research suggests that students and qualified nurses have difficulty identifying prescribing errors with high accuracy. Therefore, they aimed to collect baseline data on pre-registration student nurses’ capacity to identifying prescribing errors. The article supposes that correct and early identification of these errors can ensure medication safety for patients in acute care settings.

According to Simonsen et al. (2014), nurses, to some degree, lack adequate medication knowledge, especially when it comes to drug management and drug dose calculations. They further comment that insufficient expertise may result from the lack of continuing maintenance training during practice. In this light, the researchers aimed to compare medication knowledge, risk of errors, and certainty between experienced RNs and graduating nurse students.

This scholarly article aimed to establish the frequency, causes, and types of medication errors, specifically in the pediatric and emergency units. Izadpanah et al. (2018) cite that medical errors are among the main causes of avoidable deaths in healthcare. And, medication errors challenge is the most common type of medical error threatening the safety of patients. Hence, the need to and reason for conducting the study.

A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the research methodology used. Be sure to
identify if the methodology used was qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed-methods
approach.

This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study; thus, the article employed quantitative research. Descriptive study is a type of quantitative research that explains and interprets a current event with a systematic assortment of data. The researcher’s participants included 327 nursing staff and 62 interns in the nursing and midwifery departments. Reliable and valid questionnaires were used to collect the data. Further, the scholars analyzed the collected data using T-test, ANOVA, and descriptive statistics (Gorgich et al., 2016).

The methodology employed in this study is cross-sectional observational design, which is a type of quantitative research. This design integrated a medication prescription quiz containing six prescription questions and common prescribing errors (Whitehair et al., 2014). Later, the researchers analyzed the data collected using descriptive analysis, t-test, and 2-tailed tests.

The study required bachelor students and registered nurses to undergo a multiple-choice test in drug management, drug dose calculations, and pharmacology. These tests were included in a form with relevant background information that served as a questionnaire (Simonsen et al., 2014). Since the target group involved two separate groups, the study was designed as a comparison of two cross-sectional studies. For this reason, the methodology used was mixed-method research.

This study is also a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted on 423 nurses in a teaching hospital. The participants were selected using a stratified sampling method (Izadpanah et al., 2018). According to the article, the necessary data was collected using a three-part questionnaire and later analyzed using ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and t-test. The research quantitive and qualitative methodologies to evaluate the causes and frequency of medication errors.

A brief (1- to 2-paragraph) description of the strengths of each of the research
methodologies used, including reliability and validity of how the methodology was
applied in each of the peer-reviewed articles you selected.

This study used a valid and reliable questionnaire, which solidified its findings and discussions. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was determined by a group consisting of statistical advisors, nurse educators, and ten other educators. The test-retest method was used to verify the reliability of the data collection tool (Gorgich et al., 2016). Since the researchers employed a descriptive design, it was easier to evaluate the presented data.

One strength of this research is that it utilized a prescription medication quiz that simulated a national inpatient medication chart. This simulation helped in ensuring that the data instrument used achieved reliability. The quiz also contained six prescription questions which were easy to analyze. The 192 participants and the response rate were sufficient to measure the intended purpose of the research (Whitehair et al., 2014). Lastly, the results correspond to the initially established argument that student nurses may have difficulties identifying prescribing errors.

As the study’s methodology was designed as two cross-sectional studies, it made it easier for the researchers to maximize their scope of research. Another strength of the research is the multiple-choice questionnaire test which participates filled under controlled conditions. In addition, since the participation was voluntary and all data were made anonymous before analyses, the research adhered to ethical standards (Simonsen et al., 2014). It was imperative to assess if the test fully represented what it aims to measure and if they appeared to be suitable to the study’s aim to check the reliability and validity of the medication tests.

The one major strength of this research article is the fact that the authors confirmed that there were no conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest exists, an expert can be perceived to prefer their own interest over their duties as a researcher. In addition, since the study used a stratified sampling method, the data was consistent, reliable, and easy to analyze. They verified the content validity of the questionnaires with the collected views of three participants. Intraclass correlation index was used to verify the reliability of the data collection tool, while an alpha test confirmed the internal consistency of the research methodology (Izadpanah et al., 2018).

Medication error challenge is a clinical issue that threatens patient safety and can damage the reputation of a healthcare organization. Based on experience, the most common type of medication errors that hospital staff encounter include wrong infusion rates and dosage. Research also indicates that the prime cause of this issue is the lack of pharmacological and medication knowledge. The presented articles also make it apparent that nurses, in general, are more likely to be blamed for medication errors. Hopefully, by assessing this issue in-depth, I can expand my knowledge on the best practices to avoid medication mistakes.
Reference
Clinical Inquiry Skills in Nursing. (2020, April 11). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/clinical-inquiry-skills-in-nursing.html.
Dooly, M., Moore, E., & Vallejo, C. (2017). Research Ethics. Research-publishing. net.
Gorgich, E. A., Barfroshan, S., Ghoreishi, G., & Yaghoobi, M. (2016). Investigating the Causes of Medication Errors and Strategies to Prevention of Them from Nurses and Nursing Student Viewpoint. Global journal of health science, 8(8), 54448. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v8n8p220.
Izadpanah, F., Nikfar, S., Imcheh, F. B., Amini, M., & Zargaran, M. (2018). Assessment of frequency and causes of medication errors in pediatrics and emergency wards of teaching hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (24 Hospitals). Journal of Medicine and Life, 11(4), 299.
Kenawy, A. S., & Kett, V. (2019). The impact of electronic prescription on reducing medication errors in an Egyptian outpatient clinic. International journal of medical informatics, 127, 80-87.
Simonsen, B. O., Daehlin, G. K., Johansson, I., & Farup, P. G. (2014). Differences in medication knowledge and risk of errors between graduating nursing students and working registered nurses: comparative study. BMC health services research, 14(1), 1-11.
Whitehair L, Provost S, Hurley J. (2014). Identification of prescribing errors by pre-registration student nurses: a cross-sectional observational study utilising a prescription medication quiz. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2012.12.010. Epub 2013 Jan 30. PMID: 23374975.

Wing, C., Simon, K., & Bello-Gomez, R. A. (2018). Designing difference in difference studies: best practices for public health policy research. Annual review of public health, 39