Guided Review of Nominated Literature

This document provides a guided review of nominated literature on preventing medication administration-related errors. It explores the aim, significance, methods, data analysis, and results of both qualitative and quantitative studies. The qualitative study aims to explore the experiences and perspectives of nurses, while the quantitative study investigates the influence of workplace supports and relationships on safe medication practices. The data analysis reveals three themes: nurses' roles and responsibilities, their ability to work safely, and their acceptance of medication safety practices. The study has limitations in terms of generalizability and sample size, but recommendations are provided for future research.

Assessment 2
Guided Review of nominated literature
Guided Question Qualitative Study Quantitative Study
1. Aim and Significance
a. What was the aim and
significance of the study?
The aim of the given qualitative study is ‘to
explore the experiences in and perspectives of
nurses on preventing the medication
administration-related errors’ which is adequate.
The value of the study can be evaluated by the
presence of clear and unambiguously identified
aims, objectives as well as hypothesis (Iverson,
2014) which is evidenced in this study with clear,
concise, acceptable and achievable aim that can
solve the study problem.
Gill (2012) has suggested that the adherence of
nurses to medication safety practices looks to be
According to Polit (2016), the objectives are
the specific actions developed by the
researchers to achieve what they have
indented to inquire (Boswell, 2017). The
researchers have identified a clear, concise
and appropriate aim as ‘to investigate the
association between the workplace supports
as well as relationships & safe medication
practices among Graduate nurses’ (Sahay,
2015). The given aim is achievable and can
help to solve the research problem
The study’s significance is that the advancing
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a great problem. In-spite of several medication
preparation as well as administration-related
errors, medication administration errors (MAEs)
still occur due to improper medication safety
practices. Moreover, proper insight into the
nurses’ experiences and perspectives on
preventing MAEs is important and can be used to
tailor and implement safety practices. Therefore,
Smeulers (2014) has conducted the study to
understand about the nurses’ experiences &
perspectives in preventing MAEs..
awareness about the positive work-place
supports & relationships, unsupportive and
disruptive work-place behaviors are well
rooted in health care institutions. Specifically,
the recently completed Graduate nurses are
new to work-place, and are vulnerable in un-
supportive environments and with increased
risk for medication-related error. Hence the
researchers have aimed to conduct
quantitative study to investigate the influence
of work-place supports and relationships on
safe medication practices. .
2. Methods
a. Identify the
research design used
in the study and was
Smeulers (2014) has utilised exploratory design
under qualitative research to gain broad
perspectives on practices to prevent medication
They have utilized survey-based exploratory
and descriptive study design to deeply explore
the effect of work-place supports ans well as
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Assessment 2
it appropriate for the
issue discussed?
administration errors. According to Grove (2015),
qualitative research is a sequential, highly-
interactive and subjective approach that is
utilized to thoroughly understand the facts,
opinions, concepts, ideas as well as motivations
and also explore the life experiences of persons
individuals by giving them meaning (Merriam,,
2016). Qualitative design is employed to describe
& enhance the understanding of personal
experiences that includes pain, discomfort,
personal feelings, disabilities and difficulties (Yin,
2015). Additionally, it helps investigate the
selected life experience in an in-depth fashion by
collecting a rich narrative data (Grossoehme,
2013). The researchers have employed
qualitative exploratory design to detail and
relations on safe medication practices. Sahay
(2015) has performed descriptive quantitative
study with a larger sequential mixed method
design. It is noted from the text that little
information available about the influence of
work-place supports and relations & safe
medication practices while several variables
necessitating newly developed measures has
motivated the researchers to utilize survey-
based exploratory and descriptive design
which is appropriate..This design has provided
them the chance to redefine new measures
and enable understandings of their variables
(Henly, 2016, Curtis, 2013). Quantitative
research is a systematic, formal,& objective
method in which quantitative (numerical) data
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deeply explore the nurse’s experiences with &
perspectives on preventing MAEs so as to
improve medication safety by adopting semi-
structured interview technique. Hence, the
selected qualitative exploratory design can help
the researchers to investigate the subject based
on their object to draw solutions, which is
adequate.
are used to obtain information. Quantitative
method is considered as superior to other
studies because it helps obtain information,
describe variables, determine relationship
between variable and examine cause and
effect interactions between variables. Hence,
this design can address the medication errors
and can investigate the influence of work-
place supports & relationships on safe
medication practices.
b. Discuss the sampling
technique, inclusion and
exclusion criteria used for the
selection of sample in the
study
The researchers have adopted purposive
(judgmental) sampling technique to draw a
broader view on the medication safety subject
both at the management as well as the
operational level nurses, which is adequate.
Purposive technique is a type of non- probability
Sahay (2015) has utilized convenience
sampling method to select appropriate
samples from target population. They
recruited 58 nursing graduates in two
Australian States through e-mail conversation.
According to LoBiondo-Wood, (2014),
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Assessment 2
sampling method that is intended to select the
samples through personal judgment of the
researchers about which the sample will be more
informative (Grove, 2015).In this study, the
researchers have voluntarily recruited the
participants by carefully scrutinizing the typical of
the target population having specific knowledge
about the research problem. It is noted that two
researchers have contacted the nursing
managers, quality & safety innovators, as well as
nursing ward managers through e-mail
communication with a request to participate in
the study on medication safety practices.
Smeulers (2014) has also used snowball
sampling technique to obtain the names of other
nurses working in varied departments, who
convenience or accidental sampling method
involves selection of readily available samples
for the study. This method may subject to
sampling bias as it recruits only the interested
persons. Polit (2016) stated that eligibility
criteria should be identified before the
recruitment begins as proper selection of
inclusion and exclusion criteria can promote
the external and internal validity of the
findings, improve the study’s feasibility, yields
un-biased findings and reduce the study’s’
cost and ethical-constraints (Grove, 2015).
Moreover, such recruitment can promote the
homogeneity of the recruited samples by
adequate control of confounding variables.
The researchers have included only the
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represent varied training as well as seniority
levels and differing attitudes towards practices of
medication safety. Appropriate selection of
samples within eligibility criteria is highly crucial
for a good research study (Polit, 2016). Eligibility
criteria are the specific criteria that designate
specific attributes of the target population by
which samples are selected to participate in the
study. According to Polit (2016), selecting
samples within inclusion (attributes that the
participants should possess) and the exclusion
criteria (attributes that the samples should never
possess) is important. It is evidenced in this
study with only one eligibility criteria as to be a
registered nurse, which is appropriate for this
study as per their stated objective.
recently completed graduate nurses, who
were registered within the first 18–24 months
of practice, which is highly appropriate as per
objectives. .
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Assessment 2
c.Explore the data collection
method and its
appropriateness to the
research design of the study
Smeulers (2014) have collected rich narrative
data to address the research problem using a
semi-structured individualized interview
technique (n= 20) from the period of March to
December 2011 that lasted for 60 to 90 minutes.
Grove (2015) stated that semi-structured
interview allows the samples to express their
ideas with pre-structured questionnaire from the
interviewer with a list of topics. Such topic list will
contain plan of changes in medication practice,
potential barriers and facilitators, features of the
professionals involved in the societal &
organizational context, which is highly adequate.
Qualitative researches are mostly associated
with the natural holistic way of inquiry that
intends to study the issues of human
According to Polit (2016), quantitative data-
collection involves collection of numeric data.
The researchers have selected the
participants through the recent nursing-
graduates databases from 3 Australian
universities having 1425 recent nursing-
graduates and 30% with active university e-
mail accounts. They have opened the survey
link in e-mails on administrative-staffs at each
university, without direct involvement from
which only 58 has responded to the survey
showing a great lag in number of responders.
Though online survey method is acceptable
nowadays, increased non-responders, shows
that they could have improved their data
collection method. .
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complexities by deeply exploring it
(Panneerselvam, 2014). It aims to gather a full,
detailed and complete description about the
noted problems, including the core- context of
the issues and the evolved circumstances (Polit,
2016). In this study, the researchers have
adopted a semi-structured interview technique to
draw the broad views (perspectives) of nurses on
preventing MAEs.
3. Data analysis and results
a.How was the data analysed
and was it appropriate for the
study?
The study-researchers have performed an in-
depth data analysis by carefully organizing &
interpreting the collected narrative data.
Smeulers (2014) has used MAXQDA10- software
to code interviews after each interview session
independently and has compared the codes &
The researcher has downloaded the survey
data from the Qualtrics online-platform that
was posted on the University’s website &
analyzed through SPSS version-20. They
have run the descriptive- statistics on the
complete set of data to note logical graduate-
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Assessment 2
discussed until consensus was achieved on
coding tree. Then they have drawn most relevant
themes based on the experiences in &
perspectives of nurses on preventing MAEs and
has sorted-down and analyzed. The results were
peer-reviewed by two co-authors. According to
Geerish (2016), applicable data analytical
methods have to be employed in a qualitative
stiudy as it involves organizing as well as
structuring the data, eliciting proper meaning to
frame-themes, and frame-works, which is clearly
evident in the given study. .
responses & identified the extent of missed
data. Sahay (2015) has used frequency
distributions (mean & standard deviations) as
well as Spearman's correlation to rule-out the
relationship between variable, as advised by
Polit (2016), it is adequate to draw solutions
for a quantitative study.
b.What were the
findings/results of the study?
They have framed three themes: (1) Nurses’
roles with responsibilities in medication safety: ,
their clinical reasoning is crucial in-spite of safe
preparation and administration for medication
The results are the answers for the study
questions that are obtained through the data
analysis of the gathered data and the findings
are the results of data analysis (Grove, 2015).
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Assessment 2
safety; (2) Nurses’ ability to work safely:
knowledge about risks with nurse’s working
environment influence their ability to work safely;
and (3) nurses’ acceptance of medication safety
practices: feasibility, appropriateness and
advantages, are highly important for acceptance
of a safe medication practice.
The study findings suggest that through
Spearman's correlations, un-supportive work-
place relationships were inversely related to
recent graduate nurse, medication errors and
erosion of safe
medication practices, while supportive Nurse
Unit-Manager & work-team relationships have
positively influenced the graduate-nurses safe
medication practice
c.Discuss the limitations and
recommendations of the
study?
The study-researchers have proposed this study
only in a single University setting in specific
target population and hence the results cannot
be generalized, which questions the study’s
reliability. The authors have recommended
proposing future researches on further
Sahay (2015) has used online survey method
through University emails to access the recent
graduates accounts which is a major demerit
as a considerable period of time had elapsed
since graduation. Additionally, adoption of
convenience sample, self-report, and lack of
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Assessment 2
exploration of the varied roles of nurses with
managers and with powerful incentives. Studies
can be conducted by including physicians and
pharmacists as they can provide a broader
perspective on nurse’s role in medication safety.
information on non-responders can introduce
bias that questions the reliability of findings.
The sample size is too small but is sufficient
for an exploratory study (Polit, 2016) which is
supported by Johanson (2010) that the
samples greater than 50 is enough to avoid
bias in standard error estimates and 30
samples from a representative population of
interest is a minimal recommendation for an
exploratory survey.
They recommend that these findings can be
tested through hypothesis by adopting a large
scale study which could inform the
development of undergraduate and continuing
education programmes.
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Assessment 2
References
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Curtis, E. A., & Drennan, J. (Eds.). (2013). Quantitative health research: Issues and methods. Maidenhead, United Kingdom: Open
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Iverson, K.M. (2014). Women veterans’ preferences for intimate partner violence screening and response procedures within the
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