6.

1 Administers Medication and Other Health Therapeutics

6.1.1 Administration of Medications

Table 6.1 shows the level of competency of the selected students with regards to
giving medications to their patients.

TABLE 6.1

MEAN ADJECTIVAL DESCRIPTION

1. Check for doctor’s order and the 3.624 Very High Level of Competency
medication sheet before
preparing the indicated
medications in the patient’s
chart.
2. Identify specific the precautions 3.518 Very High Level of Competency
needed to ensure that the right
drug is prepared for the patient
and specific patient
3. Describe the methods that should 3.488 High Level of Competency
be used to ensure that the correct
patient receives that correct
medication by the correct route,
in the correct amount, at the
correct time (5 rights of drug
administration).
4. Know when to use the right 3.471 High Level of Competency
kinds of compress (hot/cold) to
be used depending on the
patient’s condition as ordered by
the doctor.

In this table, the students, in checking the doctor’s order and identifying precautions
students ranked very high in the competency rating. With regards to describing methods and
knowing which type of compress to use, the students ranked high in the competency rating.

“Quality care begins from one’s training in school but even here the quality of training is
slipping.” (Adversario, 2003). Medication errors in the hospital are common though it can be
prevented. The role of nurses in caring for patients has also expanded to include her clinical
skills in caring for clients receiving somatic therapies like medication administration. According
to Basa (2007), “The nurse has to be knowledgeable not just in the interactive interventions but
also in the use of the medications to treat the illness. She must know their mechanism of action
and side effects.”