Engaging Nursing Students in Quality Improvement: Teaching Safe Medication Administration.

Background: Safety and reduction of errors during medication administration is a prominent focus in nursing and nursing education. Developing simulated medication administration experiences that include opportunities for nursing students to manage interruptions in a realistic environment can help improved critical thinking and reasoning for safe administration practices.

Method: Sophomore nursing students voluntarily participated in a quality improvement project examining nursing management of interruptions during medication administration.

Interruptions Then and Now: Impact on Nurses' Clinical Reasoning, Emotions, and Medication Safety.

Nurses transitioning to care and novice-level nurses experience difficulty managing interruptions in the acute care setting, which can result in loss of attention and potential errors. Understanding better the characteristics surrounding interruptions will better guide staff development educators in designing management strategies as well as improving clinical reasoning that supports a culture of safety among staff and professional partners.

Improving Patient Care Outcomes Through Better Delegation-Communication Between Nurses and Assistive Personnel.

In acute care settings, registered nurses need to delegate effectively to unlicensed assistive personnel to provide safe care. This project explored the impact of improved delegation-communication between nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel on pressure injury rates, falls, patient satisfaction, and delegation practices. Findings revealed a tendency for nurses to delay the decision to delegate.

Using a kinesthetic learning strategy to engage nursing student thinking, enhance retention, and improve critical thinking.

This article reports the outcomes of a kinesthetic learning strategy used during a cardiac lecture to engage students and to improve the use of classroom-acquired knowledge in today's challenging clinical settings. Nurse educators are constantly faced with finding new ways to engage students, stimulate critical thinking, and improve clinical application in a rapidly changing and complex health care system. Educators who deviate from the traditional pedagogy of didactic, content-driven teaching to a concept-based, student-centered approach using active and kinesthetic learning activities can enhance engagement and improve clinical problem solving, communication skills, and critical thinking to provide graduates with the tools necessary to be successful.