formative assessment template 2 edited 1

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
WHAT?
Registered nurses work as frontline healthcare providers in providing care and treatment to
patients in various healthcare settings. Hence, the nurse usually works collaboratively with
other multidisciplinary teams such as surgeons, physicians, etc., to perform the daily duties.
Therefore, during clinical placement in the medical ward, the following episodes of care took
place. The most important episode of care was correctly providing medication to prevent
medical errors. During clinical placement, the most important thing conducted is mastering the
fives rules of treatment. The nurse educator stressed that the safe way of providing proper
medication is to master the five rules of safe treatment and always practice them. These steps
include the following.
The first step a nurse should consider is the proper medication. It means that, before nurses
administer the medication to patients, they should consider their complete understanding of
medicine. These include side effects of the drugs and the expected outcome before performing
medication on a patient in all circumstances. After gaining a complete understanding of the
medication, the nurses should again triple-check the medication order against the medication
obtained to ensure that there is 100% certified that it is a correct medication (EI. Morabet N. et
al., 2018).
The second step includes ensuring that the individual receiving medication is the right patient.
Nurses must check the identity of the patient against the two identifiers. However, for patients
who are vigilant and oriented, the nurse will ask them their identity, such as names, date of
birth, and check if there are the same with the identity in the order or the electronic medication
administration record of the healthcare facility. However, for the patient who cannot spell their
identity, the nurse will check the identity of the name tag and check if it marches with the
details in the order. Ultimately, some healthcare facilities are using bedside medication
verification which scans to accept the identity of rejecting the patient’s identity. For instance,
these ensure that the patient yet to receive medication is the correct patient (EI. Morabet N. et
al., 2018).
The third step is called the correct dose, where nurses usually check the medication ordered
with the obtained medication at least three times to ensure that it is the correct medication.
Nurses should also consider seeking assistance from other healthcare workers concerning
dividing some dosages. Some drugs usually come in concentrations that require wasting,
splitting, and dividing the doses. A pharmacist can help in such cases (EI. Morabet N. et al.,
2018).
Nurses need to consider the right time as the fourth step. It is because physicians usually order
the medications with a specific schedule in which they should be administered to patients.
Therefore, nurses must identify the safe medication schedule by checking the time of order and
the frequency of medication against medication administration records. However, the most
common medication error includes overdosing patients with pain medication. For instance, if
the patient has a pain medication prescription after four hours, a nurse needs to check the last
time the patient receives the medication four hours later, especially the intravenous pain
medication (EI. Morabet N. et al., 2018).
The last step that nurses should consider is the correct route of medication administration.
There are many routes of drugs administration, and the following guidelines are imperative.
For example, oral drugs are not given parenterally or any other route. It means that a nurse
should keenly read the order before administering the medication to the patient. If the is an
unclear issue in the medication route, nurses should seek proper clarifications from a physician
or senior nurses. Specific routes for drug administration include oral, intravenous, parenteral,
topical, inhalation, enteral, drops in eyes, intramuscular injections, etc. Therefore, following
the correct route or seeking clarification is the safest way to prevent medication errors (EI.
Morabet N. et al., 2018).
Another episode of care concerns health promotion and performing other nursing care. Taking
good history, physical examination, and vital signs were mandatory during the clinical
placement. The maintenance of quality and safety of the patients was also paramount during
the placement. It includes activities such as ensuring accurate records, education of patients on
how to manage their condition, implementation and assessment of care plans, using the four
nursing meta-paradigms in managing patients (Jarrar, M. T. et al., 2018).
Apart from the provision of care to patients, placement also educated on the multidisciplinary
teamwork and other services such as the admission of patients in the ward and planning of
discharges. A multidisciplinary team provides a platform for holistic care to patients. However,
the placement also elicited that the planning for discharge begins during admission, and this
provides a good platform for post-discharge follow-up, thus promoting quality of healthcare
(Jarrar, M. T. et al., 2018).
SO WHAT?
The outcome of the medical placement was positive as far as learning in clinical placement is
concerned. Since the learning in the medical ward focused on medication, providing proper
medication to medical patients was among the areas where I did extremely well. However,
conducting a physical assessment was habit challenging, and I didn’t do well. During the
placement, the interaction with terminally ill patients and dying patients was also challenging.
NOW WHAT?
However, as nursing skills are concerned, the following initiatives will help in improving the
weak skills or weaknesses. Continuously performing physical assessments while collaborating
with physicians will help upscale the physical assessment skills. Working with other colleague
nurses in the provision of care to terminally patients and dying patients will also enable the
development of courage and empathy, thus eliminating the problems that exist while interacting
with such patients.
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)
Strengths
Weaknesses
Being well organized while performing Problem with interacting with dying and
healthcare services in the medical ward. It terminally ill clients in the medical ward due
greatly helps enhance the effectiveness and to sympathy.
efficiency in delivering services to the Weakness in desire and ability to work extra
patients, thus benefiting clients.
time while providing services to patients.
Another strength is having a good knowledge
and quick critical skills, which enhance
competency
while
delivering
services,
especially when managing and offering
assistance to patients.
Skills in proper and robust history taking as
this leads to correct diagnosis.
Empathy and therapeutic relationship with
patients thus enhance the integration of four
meta-paradigms.
Opportunities
Threats
The opportunities include ensuring patient The threat includes the ethical dilemma
satisfaction while maintaining therapeutic where some patients battling a terminal
relationships to enhance safety and quality illness may decide on euthanasia; however, it
healthcare and providing services to medical is medically unaccepted.
patients in the medical ward.
References
El Morabet, N., Uitvlugt, E. B., van den Bemt, B. J., van den Bemt, P. M., Janssen, M. J., &
Karapinar‐Çarkit, F. (2018). Prevalence and preventability of drug‐related hospital
readmissions: a systematic review. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 66(3),
602-608.
Jarrar, M. T., Rahman, H. A., Minai, M. S., AbuMadini, M. S., & Larbi, M. (2018). The
function of patient‐centered care in mitigating the effect of nursing shortage on care
outcomes. The International Journal of health planning and management, 33(2), e464e473.
Name:
Description:
…