Three-month follow-up effects of a medication management program on nurses' knowledge

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of a medication management program on nurses knowledge of medication management, three months after program completion. Fifty-seven nurses took a multiple-choice test both immediately after the program and three months later. Changes in test performance were assessed using McNemar's test and generalized estimating equations for binary outcomes. Test results were generally consistent from immediately post-program to three months later, though four items differed significantly. From immediately post-program to three months later, fewer nurses correctly answered the items: documenting no medication administration (98.2 vs 86.6, p = 0.04); documenting opioid administration (56.1 vs 33.3, p = 0.01); and observation after opioid administration (35.1 vs 19.3, p = 0.08. Significantly more nurses correctly answered the item concerning the pharmacology of medication administered with food (64.9 vs 77.2, p = 0.09). We recommend both continuous medication management training and focusing on the correspondence between theory-based knowledge and clinical practice routines.

Keywords: Education program; Hospital nurse; Knowledge; Medication management.