Medication Safety for Nursing Professionals – Extending and Evaluating the MEDCH Application by Designing Specific Case Examples

Aim and Research Question(s)

The aim of this thesis was to develop and evaluate nursing-specific pharmacology training content for the existing MEDCH application, in order to enhance pharmacological knowledge among nurses and medication safety. The following research questions and goals guided the project:

1. What are barriers and facilitators to the adoption and use of digital learning tools like MEDCH in healthcare settings?
2. What are knowledge gaps and training needs of nursing professionals in relation to medication safety, as perceived by nurses and nursing educators?
3. The self-developed nursing specific case examples are validated regarding their content accuracy, clinical relevance and real-world applicability.

Background

Medication errors are a leading cause of preventable adverse drug events in clinical practice [1]. Nurses play a critical role in medication administration, yet their pharmacological training is limited compared to physicians [2, 3]. Digial learning tools can offer flexible, practical, and engaging ways to enhance medication safety knowledge [4]. The MEDCH application was originally developed to support pharmacology education for medical students. To make it suitable for nursing practice, content must be adapted to reflect nurses' responsibilities, clinical context, and specific learning needs. This thesis focuses on the development of nursing-specific case examples within MEDCH and their subsequent evaluation.

Methods

• Literature review (barriers and facilitators, theoretical background)
• Needs analysis (focus group discussion, expert interviews, questionnaire)
• Case example development and prototyping (40 case examples, prototype for user testing)
• Validation (content validation by experts, user tests and evaluation questionnaire)

Results and Discussion

• Literature review and needs analysis guided development process
• High approval in both content validation by experts (n=2) and evaluation by test users (n=13, mean 90.8 on SUS-adapted scale)
• Positive feedback: realistic cases, clear explanations, practical relevance
• Suggestions for improvement: streamline descriptions, refine language

Conclusion

Nursing-specific pharmacology cases can enhance the relevance and effectiveness of digital learning tools like MEDCH. The development process, grounded in user and expert input, led to high content validity and user acceptance. Future steps include technical implementation, broader evaluation, and integration into nursing curricula.

References

[1] P. Aspden and Institute of Medicine (U.S.), Eds., Preventing medication errors 2007. [2] R. G. Hughes and M. A. Blegen, “Medication Administration Safety” 2008. [3] M. Davis and J. Coviello, “Development of a Medication Safety Science Curriculum for Nursing Students” 2020. [4] Bakkum et al., "Digital Learning to Improve Safe and Effective Prescribing: A Systematic Review" 2019.