Medication administration – nursing workload and patient safety in clinical wards

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the characteristics of the work organization performed by nursing staff regarding medication administration procedures and their implications on the workload of these professionals and on patient safety. Method: the study design is exploratory, with mixed method research and an ecological restorative approach. Data were collected between January 2014 and March 2015, in three inpatient units of a teaching hospital in the south of Brazil, by means of photo walkabout and focus groups, in the qualitative step. In the quantitative phase data were collected from the 162 lists of patients assigned to nursing technicians during their work shifts. Results: the administration of medications has an impact on the professionals' workload and patient safety. Final considerations: there are weaknesses in the process that may contribute to medication administration errors, which are related to the number of doses and the number of patients assigned to each professional.

摘要
研究目的：分析护理人员在药物给药流程中的工作组织特征，及其对该类专业人员工作负荷与患者安全的影响。
研究方法：本研究采用探索性混合方法研究设计，结合生态修复视角。质性研究阶段于2014年1月至2015年3月间，在巴西南部某教学医院的3个住院病房开展，数据收集方式为照片漫游法（photo walkabout）与焦点小组访谈；量性研究阶段则收集了162份护理技术员工作班次内负责患者的给药清单数据。
研究结果：药物给药操作会对专业人员的工作负荷及患者安全产生影响。
研究结论：本给药流程存在若干薄弱环节，可能导致药物给药差错，此类差错与给药剂量数及每位专业人员负责的患者数量密切相关。