It is vital for nurses to administer medication in a safe and effective manner to ensure the safety and wellbeing of patients. As part of the learning process, the Gibbs reflective cycle (1998) has been used to reflect on three instances regarding medication administration within the Clinical Practice unit to better understand and enhance my own learning. Whilst preparing oral medication in the Clinical Practice Unit, I incorrectly read the label of the medication, picking up a packet of Metoclopramide 10 mg tablets, used to treat nausea (“Metoclopramide”, 2017) as listed in MIMS, instead of Metoprolol tartrate 50 mg tablets, used to treat heart conditions according to MIMS (“Metoprolol”, 2017). The 50mg order would have required 5 tablets, …show more content…
It was however, motivating to watch the subcutaneous injection being administered in a confident correct manner, following all the required best practice steps as it gave me a clear path on which to follow for future medication administration. I feel that these experiences, both positive and negative, have been beneficial for my own learning as they have provided the opportunity for mistakes to be made, in a controlled environment without endangering any lives, whilst reinforcing the importance of the 5 patients’ rights when administering medication (NSW Health, 2013). I recognise that medication can be successfully administered by strictly following all steps in the patients 5 rights process, ensuring that the right patient receives the right drug, in the right dosage, at the right time, by the correct route. If I had taken more time and read the label correctly when preparing the medication then the error would have been avoided. If Michael had taken more time and following a step by step process as Sarah did with her successful subcutaneous injection, then the intramuscular injection would have been performed using best practice