Tekijät

• Turku University of Applied Sciences

Asiasanat

administration of drugs, clinical protocols, health education, nurses, nursing education, students

Sisällön kuvaus

The survey charted the medication competence and working life skills of graduating nurses in Finland and the Baltic countries. The survey was conducted as part of the eMedication Passport (eMED-PASS) project, funded by Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership. The goal of the research project was to increase patient and medication safety in partner countries by developing the educational preparation of nurses. The main aim of the project was to test the electronic Medication Passport, developed in Finland, in higher nursing education in the Baltic countries. The digital learning tool was created to support, ensure and assess the development of the required medication competence of nurse graduates. The project was co-funded by the project partners together with Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership. The partners in the project included Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Tartu Health Care College (Coordinator, Estonia), P.Stradins Medical College of the University of Latvia (Latvia), Kauno kolegija/ University of Applied Sciences (Lithuania).

The data consist of survey responses from nursing students in higher education in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The study included two rounds: a pre-questionnaire conducted before the testing of the eMedication Passport, and then a post-questionnaire conducted after the testing. In Finland, only the pre-questionnaire was conducted.

First, the respondents' perceptions of studies related to medication management were examined with questions on, for example, whether they were satisfied with the amount of medication management education, felt motivated to study related topics, and had actively maintained their medication competence. The respondents were also asked about learning medication management in clinical practice. Questions included, for example, whether they had had enough possibilities to practice medication management in clinical practice, felt they had been expected to have better medication competence than they actually did, and felt that they had had a positive experience with nurse mentors in clinical practice. Finally, the respondents' medication competence was evaluated with a test focusing on medication management legislation and commonly used abbreviations, pharmacology, medication administration, medication calculations, and patient vignettes.

Background variables included the respondent's age, country of residence, year of study, number of clinical practice periods completed, work experience in health care, current job title, grades in examination on theoretical basis of pharmacotherapy, and whether they had passed the medication calculation exam.