University Nursing Program: Drug Administration Self-Reflection Report

This reflective essay details a nursing student's experience in a Clinical Practice Unit (CPU), focusing on drug administration. The student discusses their application of the "10 rules" of medication administration, including patient assessment and oral medication practices. The essay highlights challenges faced, such as dealing with patient pain and parental concerns regarding injections, and the student's interventions. The student reflects on the skills acquired, specifically in subcutaneous and intramuscular injections, and identifies areas for improvement, such as expanding knowledge of different drugs and their pharmacology. The reflection also covers the importance of patient-centered care, understanding contraindications, and the need for continuous learning and confidence-building. The student concludes by expressing readiness for OSCA exams and outlining plans for future clinical practice, emphasizing thorough preparation and a commitment to learning from mistakes.

Running header: a self-reflection on drugs administration 1
Drug administration
Student’s name
Institutional Affiliation

Drug administration 2
My experience in the clinical practice unit (CPU) was generally good. There was a lot
to learn. In medication administration, there are 10 rules (Catanyag, 2012). The first step in drug
administration an assessment of the patient (Wockhardt, 2016). I did exactly that and made sure I
followed the 10 rules. I can comfortably give oral medications. I felt challenged and at the same
time, I admired my colleague administering subcutaneous heparin sodium injection. I was
balancing an input/output chart for a patient. There was a patient complaining that both deltoids
were in pain due to the constant and alternate injections on the site. Pain is what the patient
describes to be (Brunner and Sudderth, 2013). My colleague was able to solve this problem by
injecting the patient on the lateral thigh. I was feeding a patient when I heard a patient rejecting
drug injection. The mother claimed that her two months old baby cannot be injected into the
gluteal regions because an advert she saw prohibited it. My colleague was arguing with her. I
intervened and helped in solving the case.
I can comfortably give oral medications. I know when and to whom they are indicated
to. The first colleague had sufficient knowledge on subcutaneous injection sites. It can be
injected on the stomach, thighs and deltoid muscles. This challenged me to read more on
injection sites. My second colleague was inadequately informed. Intramuscular injects are not
done on infants gluteal areas due to the risk of injecting their sciatic nerves. From this, I learned
when we are not sure of the actions we are taking, we should consult our supervisors for help.
We are also supposed to listen to our patients and get to know their explanations.
From this clinical practice, the positive impacts in my profession are that I have
acquired skills on subcutaneous injections (heparin sodium), intramuscular injection
(metoclopramide) and oral medications. On the negative side is that I did not have exposure to
administering different types of drugs treating different conditions.

Drug administration 3
The learning revolved between observing, being assisted and practical. This was very
effective. After a few observations and being facilitated in a few procedures. I am comfortable
administering drugs via any route (Potter et al., 2013). The barriers to effective learning were not
having as many patients as I could have wished for intramuscular and subcutaneous injections.
We shared the ones we had to ourselves. I was also afraid of doing a mistake. This made me
observe more other than do the practical. I had to perfect. I am ready for my OSCA exams. I am
well equipped with knowledge and skills.
A mastery of theory is key. To enhance my learning and to be able to solve my
dilemmas. With adequate knowledge of anatomy, pharmacology of the drugs it would have
boosted my confidence hence I would have observed less and done more practice.
In future clinical practice unit, I will ensure I have all the details on drug
administration. The rights of the patients. The administration route. Patient-centered care (Briggs
et al., 2014). The contraindications to the sites. The pharmacology pertaining the medication. I
will also ensure that I am confident enough so as to learn more. I will also be ready to be
corrected so as to learn from my mistakes.

Drug administration 4
References
Briggs. L et al., (2014) Patient-centered care as a priority in healthcare provision. Journal of
professional nursing. Ed 21(4) pg. 23-24
Brunner and Suddarth, (2013). Textbook of medical and surgical nursing, 13th edition
Bullock, S., (2013). Fundamentals of pharmacology. Ed. 7
Catanyag, H., (2016). 10 Golden Rules for Drug Administration. Nursing notes. Retrieved on
30th September 2017 from www.nursehussein.com/10-golden-rules-for-drug-administration
Potter, A., Griffin, A., Hall, A., (2013). Fundamental of nursing. Ed.8