Progressive Care Nurses Improving Patient Safety by Limiting Interruptions During Medication Administration

Activity Summary

Because of the high frequency of interruptions during medication administration, the effectiveness of strategies to limit interruptions during medication administration has been evaluated in numerous quality improvement initiatives in an effort to reduce medication administration errors.

Objectives

Describe similarities between the principles of the sterile cockpit concept used in the aviation industry and the Nurses Uninterrupted Passing Medications Safely (NUPASS) guidelines to promote safety.
Implement evidence-based strategies to limit interruptions during medication administration.
Discuss the current evidence supporting use of interruption limiting strategies to reduce medication administration errors in the acute care setting.

Continuing Education Disclosure Statement

Successful Completion

Learners must attend/view/read the entire activity and complete the associated evaluation to be awarded the contact hours or CERP. No partial credit will be awarded.

Disclosure

This activity has been reviewed by the Nurse Planner. It has been determined that the material presented here shows no bias. Approval of a continuing education activity does not imply endorsement by AACN or ANCC of any commercial products displayed or discussed in conjunction with the activity.

Accreditation

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC's) Commission on Accreditation, ANCC Provider Number 0012 (60 min contact hour). AACN has been approved as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the California State Board of Nursing, California Provider number CEP01036 for 1.2 contact hours (50 min contact hour).

AACN programming meets the standards for most states that require mandatory continuing education contact hours for license and/or certification renewal. AACN recommends consulting with your state board of nursing or credentialing organization before submitting CE to fulfill continuing education requirements.