8 Topics
5 Days
24 Sessions
Programme Overview
Training Description
Medication safety is a critical multi-disciplinary priority across the entire healthcare continuum. Training should involve all professionals who handle, prescribe, dispense, or administer medications:
• Prescribing Clinicians: Physicians, Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Physician Assistants (PAs), and resident doctors responsible for ordering medications.
• Pharmacy Personnel: Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and clinical pharmacologists responsible for verification, dispensing, compounding, and medication reconciliation.
• Nursing Staff: Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and nursing students responsible for final checks and administration.
• Clinical Support & Care Coordinators: Medical assistants, unit clerks, and case managers involved in order entry and care transitions.
• Healthcare Leadership & Risk Managers: Hospital administrators, pharmacy directors, and quality officers responsible for medication-use safety systems and error reporting.
Session Objectives
- Identify vulnerability points across the medication-use process (prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring).
- Execute the "Rights" of medication administration and comprehensive safety checks consistently in daily clinical practice.
- Recognize high-alert medications and manage Look-Alike, Sound-Alike (LASA) drugs to prevent catastrophic administration errors.
- Perform accurate medication reconciliation across all transitions of care (admission, transfer, and discharge).
About the Course
Welcome to the training on Medication Safety.
Medications are the most common therapeutic intervention used in healthcare today. When used correctly, they cure diseases, alleviate symptoms, and save countless lives. However, medications also carry inherent risks. Medication errors—defined as any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm—represent one of the most frequent types of medical errors globally.
Medication safety is not merely about individual attentiveness; it is about designing resilient systems that make it hard to do the wrong thing and easy to do the right thing. Because the medication-use process is complex and involves multiple handoffs between doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and patients, safety requires a coordinated, multi-disciplinary defense strategy.
Why This Training Matters
Historically, medication errors were handled through a punitive approach, blaming the nurse or doctor who administered the drug at the end of the chain. Modern healthcare science proves that errors are usually symptoms of systemic flaws—such as confusing packaging, illegible orders, interruption-heavy environments, or inadequate cross-checks.
By the end of this program, participants will possess the practical tools, human factors awareness, and collaborative workflows necessary to eliminate preventable medication harm and protect patients at every stage of treatment.
Curriculum & Topics
8 Topics | 24 Sessions
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Workshop 1.1:
Core definitions: Adverse Drug Events (ADEs), Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), Medication Errors, and Near Misses.
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Workshop 1.2:
The multi-step medication-use process: Prescribing, Transcribing/Verifying, Dispensing, Administration, and Monitoring.
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Workshop 1.3:
Human factors in medication errors (fatigue, distractions, cognitive overload, and environmental stressors).
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Workshop 2.1:
The expanded "Rights" of medication administration (Right Patient, Drug, Dose, Route, Time, Documentation, Reason, Response, Right to Refuse).
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Workshop 2.2:
Pre-administration patient assessment and identity verification protocols (two patient identifiers).
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Workshop 2.3:
Safe documentation practices and managing verbal or telephone orders.
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Workshop 3.1:
Identification of High-Alert Medications (e.g., anticoagulants, insulin, opioids, chemotherapy, intravenous electrolytes).
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Workshop 3.2:
Strategies for safe handling, independent double-checks, and storage of HAMs.
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Workshop 3.3:
Recognizing and mitigating risks associated with Look-Alike, Sound-Alike (LASA) drug names and packaging (Tall Man lettering).
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Workshop 4.1:
Standardized formulas and calculation safety for oral, liquid, and parenteral doses.
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Workshop 4.2:
Avoiding dangerous abbreviations, trailing zeros, and naked decimals.
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Workshop 4.3:
Safe programming and management of smart infusion pumps and dose error reduction systems (DERS).
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Workshop 5.1:
The critical role of MedRec at hospital admission, intra-facility transfer, and discharge.
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Workshop 5.2:
Obtaining an accurate best possible medication history (BPMH).
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Workshop 5.3:
Identifying and resolving unintentional discrepancies, omissions, and duplications.
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Workshop 6.1:
Educating patients on their medication regimens using plain language and the "Teach-Back" method.
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Workshop 6.2:
Empowering patients to ask questions about new or unfamiliar drugs.
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Workshop 6.3:
Managing self-administration risks and post-discharge adherence support.
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Workshop 7.1:
Blameless reporting of medication errors and near misses.
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Workshop 7.2:
Investigating medication failures using Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
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Workshop 7.3:
Open disclosure and transparent communication with patients and families when a medication error occurs.
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Workshop 8.1:
The role of Clinical Pharmacists as safety barriers on the care team.
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Workshop 8.2:
Utilizing technology: Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA), and Electronic Health Records (EHR) clinical decision support.
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Workshop 8.3:
Fostering a Just Culture that encourages reporting and systemic learning.
