Journal of Community & Public Health Nursing
Open Access

Abstract

Geriatric nurses play an important role in patients at geriatric ages. Medication administration is one of the main roles of a nurse in any healthcare setting, especially in geriatric settings where older people are known to undergo physical, biological and psychological changes and have difficulty in performing daily activities and even more so in administering the medications they take. Method: This study was conducted in the period January-April 2022 in geriatric centers. Data were collected through a questionnaire completed by geriatric nurses in nursing homes. Nurses completed a questionnaire on drug administration and their side effects in geriatric patients. Number of nurses who participated in the study n = 80 nurses working in geriatric services. 55% of respondents were female and 45% were male. The average age of the nurses was 45 years. 50% of them said that they had made mistakes in the administration of medicines and 35% of them said that they had no mistakes in giving the medicine and 15% of the nurses did not give any answer. The nurses said that they are in charge of their shift, having on average 10-15 patients who were taking more than three medications, these burdens and aggravates their work to be attentive in the administration of therapy. Conclusions: In the results obtained from the study we conclude that workload, experience and careful non-control of the therapy sheet are related to errors that occur in the administration of medication in the elderly, concluding that a significant number of nurses who provide service in these geriatric centers stated that they have erred more than once in giving medication according to the doctor’s order and therapy sheet. This study shows us that errors can occur at any stage of the process of using the medication in the description, documentation, distribution, administration and monitoring which can lead to significant risks for these patients. Nurses must therefore be able to recognize errors during this process and prevent them before they reach the patient. The contribution of nurses in documenting, reporting or avoiding these errors helps to ensure quality care and improve patient status. Keywords: nursing role, medication, responsibility.

Biography

Zamira Imeraj is a Lecturer at the University of Medicine Tirana Albania. She has a doctorate in nursing sciences. She is the author of lecture series for nursing students and has published articles in journals and conferences on nursing care.