Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Evaluations of Learning Medication Management in Clinical Practice
The aim of this study was to describe nursing students’ evaluations of learning medication management in clinical practice.
Method. For data collection, a quantitative questionnaire survey was used with a convenience sample of 110 third-year nursing students in three Baltic countries.
Results. According to three-fourths of students’ evaluations, many tasks in medication care were performed without adequate supervision. A third of students felt that the medication competence expected from them during clinical practice was higher than their current skill. Approximately half of the students received feedback on their medication competence development from nurse mentors. More than a third of the students reported that they had suffi cient opportunities to practise medication management in clinical practice. One-fourth of the students found that the medication education at school and the medication care in practice corresponded well.
Conclusion. More attention should be paid to teaching and practicing medication management in clinical practice. It is essential to enhance the relationship between the student and the nurse mentor, providing students with more opportunities for medication administration under the mentor’s supervision, as well as to ensure suffi cient feedback and support.
Correspondence to . Tartu Health Care College, Nooruse 5, Tartu, 50411, Estonia. E-mail: maritkiljako@nooruse.ee