Validation of an Immersive Virtual Reality Based Experiential Learning Simulator to Improve Medication Administration Safety Skills of Registered Nurses

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Project Summary In the United States, approximately 2 % of all hospital inpatients have experienced harmful effects from errors associated with the administration of medications. Such errors have also contributed to increased length of stay of up to 10 days for hospitalized patients. 38% of errors related to medication happens during administration. A medication administration error is defined as a “deviation from the prescriber’s medication order as written on a patient’s record, manufacturer’s preparation, administration instructions, or institutional policies/ procedures”. The Joint Commission’s 2017 National Patient Safety Goals affirm the continued importance of medication administration to patient safety by establishing a goal focused on improving the use of medications within hospitals. The recommendations from The Joint Commission include labeling all medications and medication containers; verification of all medication and solutions both verbally and visually by two qualified individuals; and proper review of medications by entering and exiting staff during shift changes. As healthcare professionals, Registered Nurses have the responsibility to safely administer diverse classifications of medications to patients within community hospital settings. The Joint Commission recommendations can only be effective when Registered Nurses directly involved in the medication administration process can be trained in adhering to proposed protocols. Moreover, unexpected interruptions and other human factors related to stress, lack of sleep, and education level have potential to interfere with the medication administration process and contribute to an adverse patient safety event. Additionally, technological advances such as bar code and computer administration programs make it necessary for nursing professionals to keep up-to-date on knowledge and expected practice behaviors associated with medication administration. Moreover, scheduling of training time, cost, and a lack of optimal educational platforms impact the capacity of hospital institutions to offer continued medication administration safety competency training to the practicing nurse. In order to address the above issues and provide training in a simulation environment, we propose to develop a an immersive virtual reality experiential simulation environment to train nursing professionals in safe medication administration. We propose two specific aims to achieve and prove the effectiveness of our simulator. In aim 1 we will develop the simulator with capabilities to simulate all aspects of medication administration. In aim 2, we will conduct validation studies to prove face, content and predictive validity of the simulator.