The Relationship Between Nursing Experience and Education and the Occurrence of Reported Pediatric Medication Administration Errors.

Medication errors are one of the most common incidents in the hospitals. They can be harmful, and they are even more detrimental for pediatric patients. This study explored the relationship between nursing experience, education, the frequency and severity of reported pediatric medication administration errors (PMAEs). The data for this study were collected from a larger pan Canadian study. A survey tool was developed to collect self-reported data from nurses. In addition to descriptive statistics, a Poisson regression or a multiple linear regression was completed to address the research questions, and a Boneferrai correction was conducted to adjust for the small sample size. Results demonstrated that on units with more nurses with a higher level of current experience, more PMAEs were reported (p=.001), however; the PMAEs reported by these nurses were not as severe (p=.003). Implications to advance both safe medication delivery in the pediatric setting and safe culture of reporting for both actual and potential errors are identified.