Medication Safety: Analysis of Nurses' Experiences in Nursing Practice

This assignment analyzes two research papers focused on medication safety in nursing practice. The first paper explores nurses' experiences and perspectives on preventing medication administration errors using a qualitative interview study. The second paper investigates the association between workplace supports and relationships and safe medication practice among graduate nurses, employing a quantitative study design. The analysis addresses the aims and significance of each study, research designs, sampling techniques, data collection and analysis methods, key findings, limitations, and recommendations. The assignment critically evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of each research approach and synthesizes the findings to provide a comprehensive understanding of medication safety in nursing. The student's work provides a detailed comparison of the two studies, highlighting the different methodologies and their respective impacts on the research outcomes. Furthermore, the assignment also examines the limitations of each study and suggests recommendations for future research in the field.

Guided questions Answer Template (Please do not remove the questions)
Guided Question Qualitative Study Quantitative Study
1. Aim and Significance
(5 marks 200 words)
a. What was the aim and
significance of the study?
The aim of this research study is to explore
the experiences of nurses for preventing
medication administration errors. The key
significance of this journal paper is to
evaluate the nurses’ experiences of
medication safety practice (Meulers,
Onderwater, van Zwieten, & Vermeulen,
2014). This paper focuses on the qualitative
study and provided theoretical information
about the research topic. With the help of
this paper, the readers can enhance their
skills in the field of nursing.
The key aim of this paper is to explore the
influence of workplace supports and
relationships on secure medication practice. The
significance of this journal paper is to improve
knowledge in the field of medication practice and
analyse the importance of nurses in medication
safe practice (Sahay, Hutchinson, & East, 2015).
In this research study the author’s analysis and
evaluate a pilot study of Australian graduate
nurses for securing medication practice. The
other objective of this article is to examine the
association between safe medication practice and
workplace supports.
2. Methods (10 marks
700 words)
a. Identify the
research design used
In this research study, the authors used
qualitative research design and it was an
In this journal paper, numbers of variables are
used along with the previous studies. Moreover,

in the study and was
it appropriate for the
issue discussed?
effective process for the issue discussed by
the researchers. The qualitative research
design focuses on the theoretical data and
information on the research topic. With the
help of this research design, the authors
improved the effectiveness of the paper and
supported evidence by previous studies. A
qualitative interview study has been
conducted by the investigators for collecting
the viewpoints of other experts and
participants. Therefore, this research design
is sufficient for analysing the importance of
nurses’ experiences in medication safety
practice.
survey based explanation and descriptive
research design were used by the authors for
improving the effectiveness of the research. It is
very appropriate to research design for critically
analysing and discussing the issues and key
points related to medication safety. It is observed
that the investigators adopted a quantitative
research design process with a convenience
sample of 58 nurses. The quantitative design
focuses on the data and numerical information
about the research topic. Therefore, such kind of
research design is appropriative for critically
evaluating the role of nurses in medication safety.
b. Discuss the sampling
technique, inclusion and
exclusion criteria used for
the selection of sample in
the study
After analysing this journal paper it has been
found that the researchers used snowball
sampling technique in order to collect the
names of other nurses from various
departments. In this research around 20
nurses were included for analysing their
viewpoints on the research topic. For the
In this journal paper, the researchers used
databases of current graduates from 3 Australian
university schools and obtained 1425 samples in
which 427 possible samples were included. The
inclusive criteria involved nurses’ experience and
previous papers that provided complete
information. The rest of the samples were

selection of sample, the authors used
inclusive criteria that included the nurses
that have enough experience about
medication, previous papers that provided
in-depth analysis, and journal papers related
to the research topic. The researchers
excluded several samples and papers due to
less experience and little information about
nurses’ experience on medication.
excluded because they have less experience with
medication and provided less information about
the research topic. Moreover, the researchers
included the results and findings of previous
papers along with the sample taken by authors.
Therefore, with the help of these samples and
sampling technique, the researchers collected the
effective data and facts about the research topic
and gained the viewpoints of other nurses and
experts.
c.Explore the data
collection method and its
appropriateness to the
research design of the
study
The data collection methods used by the
researches included both primary and
secondary process. The primary data
obtained through interview and survey and
secondary data collected from previous
studies and literature review. In which semi
structured interview was conducted by the
authors for obtaining new and fresh
information about nurses’ experiences. After
collecting data or information from an
interview the authors analysed the opinions
In this research paper, the authors used both
primary and secondary data collection methods
for obtaining fresh and new information. The
primary data were collected from survey through
questionnaire and secondary data were obtained
from previous papers, peer-reviewed papers, and
other online sources. With the help of both these
technique, the investigators improved the
effectiveness of the paper. Moreover, such kinds
of data collection methods are appropriate for
research design because they provided

of participants. For collecting data an email
has been sent to the participants and through
the interview, process consent was gathered
from all participants. Such kinds of data
collection methods are appropriate for
research design because they provide a
platform for obtaining qualitative
information about the research topic.
quantitative data along with the nurses’
experiences (Smeulers, Onderwater, van Zwieten,
& Vermeulen, 2014). For collecting viewpoints of
nurses an email was sent to participants and
produced a questionnaire for analysing their
opinions. Therefore by using such kind of data
collection processes, the researchers have
obtained the aims and objectives of the study.
3. Data analysis and
results (10 marks
600 words)
a. How was the data
analysed and was it
appropriate for the study?
The data analysis was performed in parallel
with the interview process. In order to
analysis, the collected data the authors
adopted MAXqda10 software (Aboumatar, et
al., 2010). Moreover, the interviews were
coded after every interview process and
compared with each other. This data analysis
technique is more appropriate for the study
because it is very easy to apply and analysis
obtained data. After collecting all information
For analysing the gathered data and information
the investigators used statistic package for social
sciences version 20 software which is
appropriate for the study because it provides a
way for analysing data or information. In which
survey data was collected from the qualtrcis
online platform and descriptive statistics were
run on the computer system for analysing
obtained data (Sahay, Hutchinson, & East, 2015).
After that researchers performed mean and

the text fragments were sorted and critically
analysed as per the determined themes. For
better understanding, the collected data from
the interview were compared with the
previous studies and analysed the
importance of nurses’ experiences on
medication safety.
standard deviations along with the spearman’s
correlation analysis. Therefore by using such kind
of data analysis process the authors evaluated
both primary and secondary data obtained from
survey and journal papers.
b.What were the
findings/results of the
study?
It is observed that in this paper 20 nurses
were involved and all participated
voluntarily. There are major three themes
emerged from the collected data, for
example, the nurses’ roles in medication, the
nurses’ capability to work effectively and the
nurses’ acceptance of safety practices
(Adhikari, Tocher, Smith, Corcoran, &
MacArthur, 2014). After analysis this paper it
has been found that nurses’ experience
positively impacts on the medication safety
practices and has the potential to work
effectively in daily practice.
After reading this paper it has been identified
that the mean duration of employment for
graduate’s nurses was 13.2 months. Form survey
it has been estimated that a two thirds of the
nurses yield errors at the time of medication
practices. For medication practices and
disruptive behaviours, it is analysed that the
nurses' experience positively enhance the
medication practices. It is observed that graduate
nurses influenced by disruptive nature from
nurses and the authors reviewed the significance
of nurses’ experiences. moreover, in several cases
nurses’ experiences were linked with threats and
risks related to medication safety.

c.Discuss the limitations
and recommendations of
the study?
The major limitation of this paper is that the
researchers did not involve quantitative
research design due to which readers are not
able to compare the present studies with
other (Armutlu, Foley, Surette, Belzile, &
McCusker, 2008). Moreover, the outcomes
are consistent with other papers; the
findings are moveable and have implications
for other healthcare systems. It is
recommended that the research will use
quantitative research design and conduct a
literature review for achieving the aims and
objectives of the research. They should avoid
research gaps between information and
research question by critically analysing
opinions and results obtained by previous
studies.
The key limitation of this study is that the method
employed to access the current graduates and the
authors did not provide more information about
nurses’ experience. This paper did not involve
qualitative research design which is another
drawback of this study (BRADY, MALONE, &
Fleming, 2009). In the further investigation, the
authors will enhance the efficiency of the paper
and reduced all these limitations. It is
recommended that the researchers should
critically examination the outcomes and findings
of other articles and involves more samples for
evaluating the nurses’ experience and their role
in medication practices.

References
Aboumatar, H. J., Winner, L., Davis, R., Peterson, A., Hill, R., Frank, S., ... & Farmer, D. (2010). Applying Lean Sigma solutions to mistake-
proof the chemotherapy preparation process. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 36(2), 79-AP4.
Adhikari, R., Tocher, J., Smith, P., Corcoran, J., & MacArthur, J. (2014). A multi-disciplinary approach to medication safety and the
implication for nursing education and practice. Nurse education today, 34(2), 185-190.
Armutlu, M., Foley, M. L., Surette, J., Belzile, E., & McCusker, J. (2008). Survey of nursing perceptions of medication administration
practices, perceived sources of errors and reporting behaviours. Healthcare Quarterly, 11(3), 58-65.
BRADY, A. M., MALONE, A. M., & Fleming, S. (2009). A literature review of the individual and systems factors that contribute to
medication errors in nursing practice. Journal of nursing management, 17(6), 679-697.
Sahay, A., Hutchinson, M., & East, L. (2015). Exploring the influence of workplace supports and relationships on safe medication practice:
A pilot study of Australian graduate nurses. Nurse education today, 35(5), e21-e26.
Smeulers, M., Onderwater, A. T., van Zwieten, M. C., & Vermeulen, H. (2014). Nurses' experiences and perspectives on medication safety
practices: an explorative qualitative study. Journal of Nursing Management, 22(3), 276-285.