Research Critique of Medication Interruptions on Clinical Errors and Procedural Failures among Nurses in a Metropolitan Teaching Hospital

NUR131 TASK 3 RESEARCH WORKBOOK Semester 2 2018 Name:
Part B: Research Critique (60 marks)
Article Reference (in Harvard style):
Specific critique area Answer
Explain the purpose of the study. Use the
PICO or PICo format to identify the
research question.
(150 words)
PICO
Population
The study population consists of nurses conducting medication rounds in a large metropolitan
teaching hospital in Sydney. Two critical care units and five medical-surgical units were sampled,
and a total of 25 nurses were observed while on duty.
Intervention
The study did not have an intervention since it was an observational study not like in clinical trials.
The observational study comprised of the nature of the interruptions on medication during
preparation and administration. A standard observation tool was used to record the kind of the
intrusion, its source, whether it stopped the medication administration and the nurse had to attend
to it, the time taken away from the primary task, and the place of interruption.
Comparison
The study did not conduct any comparison.
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Outcomes
The study’s Outcome shows that medical interruptions are associated with clinical errors and
procedural failures. It the observation took approximately one hour per ward
What kind of interruptions occurs during medication preparation and administration, alongside the
sources of interruptions, the time consumed by the disruptions and incidence of clinical errors and
procedural failures?
Discuss the design used in the research.
(150 words)
The study adopted a non-participant prospective observational study. This is a study design that
follows a group with similar subjects but with varying specific factors over a given time, to ascertain
how these factors the results (Song and Chung, 2010). A unique feature of a prospective study is
that when the researchers start to enroll the subjects and gather baseline exposure data, none of
the target population have known about the expected outcomes (LaMorte, 2013). The study
allows the researcher to approximate the procedural and clinical errors due to its prospective
nature. This approach also enables easy calculation of the outcomes and prevalence of diseases or
medical malpractices which can be compared with actual results to determine the accuracy and
credibility of the findings. Furthermore, in this design, the investigators do not have to address
ethical matters like in the case of clinical trials in which treatment procedures are required.
Identify and explain sampling and
recruitment procedures were in the
The study used convenience sampling approach to select a sample of two critical care and five
medical-surgical units from a public metropolitan teaching hospital in Sydney. Before the
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research.
(200 words)
commencement of the study, the prospective unit nurses were notified by the Unit managers of
the expected research during their routine duty. Their consent to participate in the study was
obtained in writing by the investigating nurse. A total of 25 nurses at the ward level agreed to be
observed while organizing and administering medications to 47 distinguished patients leading to
108 observed interruptions. The patient rooms observed comprised of single and four-bed rooms.
Both oral and non-regulated medical preparations were kept in a specific medication trolley, which
the nurse moved to the particular bed of the patient or positioned it outside the ward if the patient
was placed under isolation. The medication trolley was kept in the corridor adjacent to the nurses’
station when not in use. All medications were held in the preparation room.
Identify and discuss the ethical
considerations for this study.
(200 words)
Informed consent from the potential participants was obtained in writing before the
commencement of the study. The nurses were made aware by the clinical nurse educator or the
nurse unit manager of the expected observations while they were undertaking their regular duties
of going around the wards. Informed consent is essential in research that involves human beings
because it creates a connection of shared trust between the researcher and the study subjects by
opening significant ways of communication (Mandal and Parija, 2014). This further increases the
credibility and reliability of the collected data because the responses from human subjects are
determined by their willingness and total trust to participate in the study and provide honest
information (Noble and Smith, 2015).
The researchers also obtain ethical approval from the district health services and ethics approval
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