Gibbs Reflection on Safe Administration of Medication

Running head: GIBBS REFLECTION ON SAFE ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION
Gibbs reflection on Safe Administration of medication
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GIBBS REFLECTION ON SAFE ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION
Introduction:
One of the greatest challenges for the nursing professionals to overcome while providing
care to the patients is the safe and effective administration of medication. As mentioned by
Roughead, Semple and Rosenfeld (2016), the medical errors have been recognized as the leading
public health issue which is attributed to add 25% of health care associated accidents in the
Australian health care system. However, among the various different types of medication errors
that are prevalent in the health care scenario, by far the most prevalent one can be considered
administering the intravenous (IV) medication (Maaskant et al., 2015). Administering IV
medications require advanced skill set and competencies due to the complicated and meticulous
procedure associated with the entire procedure of administering intravenous medication to the
patients (Parry, Barriball & While, 2015). Hence, it is very important for the nurses to develop
skill set sufficient for adequate intravenous medication administration. This essay will attempt to
explore my personal experience of administering IV Flucloxacillin to a patient taking the aid of
Gibbs reflection cycle.
Description:
I had been given the opportunity to administer Flucloxacillin via the IV route to a patient
and my course of action for this activity began with introducing myself to the patient. Then, as
per the standard guidelines, I carried out the five moments of hand hygiene all the while
engaging in small talk with the patient in to develop a therapeutic connection and build an easy
rapport. Followed by which I carried out identification check for the drug, by matching the drug
name with the prescription chart and the label of the container and also its expiry date
(Kemh.health.wa.gov.au, 2018). Then I ensured the patient is right for this administration
matching the name and medical record number prior to administration, along with any

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GIBBS REFLECTION ON SAFE ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION
possibilities allergy or hypersensitivity to the drug components. The next three rights to be
checked is right time, right dose and right route which I completed next, although I also
confirmed with the buddy nurse before commencing with anything. I commenced with safely
preparing the medication dosage following the ANTT technique and reconstituted the medication
safely. Although, in the excitement of the entire experience I overlooked the aspect of checking
the probability of phlebitis the need for checking of the cannula site which is very important to
avoid the risk of the patient obtaining phlebitis or any pertinent infections. However, the buddy
nurse reminded me immediately carried it out effectively. The last task for me had been to
discard the sharps safely and adequately which I carried out and then educated the patient
regarding the medicine administered and what can be expected as adverse reactions and how to
communicate if experiencing and adverse reaction out of the norm before leaving the room.
Feelings:
First and foremost, I would like to add in this context that this had been an extremely
helpful experience for me to administer intravenous medication, which is the one of the most
challenging role of a practicing registered nurse. This had been my first experience of
administering intravenous medication on my own to a patient in the real clinical setting and I had
been extremely nervous while administering the medication and even my hands had been
shaking a little. Although, I tried my best to not let my nervousness and excitement cloud my
clinical decision making and medication administering skills and I attempted to invest complete
attention and dedication to the tasks I had to complete as per the basic standards of administering
intravenous medication safely. Although I did commit two unintentional errors while completing
the entire activity. First and foremost, I completely forgot to check the cannula site for
competency and possibility of phlebitis about which I was reminded by my buddy nurse.