As with any occupation, there’s a lot to know in order to become a competent and proficient professional. Healthcare is no different. Based on your specific discipline, be it pharmacy, nursing, or physician, there are skills and tasks that are essential to the successful completion of your responsibilities.
For infusion center clinicians, the most essential information is undoubtedly in-depth drug knowledge. That includes knowledge of: drug preparation, drug administration, patient response(s) to drugs, and what to do in the event of an adverse patient reaction. In an article published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology[1], Jeffrey K. Aronson explains the following (as it relates to medication errors):
Errors are first broken down into two separate categories:
1. Mistakes
2. Skill-based errors
Mistakes are then divided into two categories:
1. Knowledge based errors
2. Rule-based errors
Skill-based errors are divided into two categories as well:
1. Action based errors (slips)
2. Memory based errors (lapses)
What does this mean to the infusion center clinician?
To prevent both rule-based and action-based errors, we recommend utilizing RxTOOLKIT’s RxWORKFLOW for IV Safety™. These user-friendly drug specific monographs provide interactive reference, tools, and training, right where every clinician really needs them, at the point of care. Within each drug specific monograph, the “rules” for drug preparation and administration are presented in an easy to follow format that guides the clinician through a safe and consistent process.
RxWORKFLOW for IV Safety also helps to prevent “slips” by providing drug specific on-the-spot tools that assist in preparation or administration (RxQuickCALC™, RxCALC™, and RxDoseCHECK™). These tools are always what you need for that specific drug and include step-by-step instructions, tapering tables, and automated calculations helping clinicians to avoid an action based error.
So how do you address Knowledge and Memory Based Errors?
Let’s start with Knowledge Based Errors.
RxTOOLKIT provides a Drug Specific Competency Tracking Program in our popular LMS platform, RxTOOLKIT eLEARNING. Drug Specific Competency Tracking is an ongoing program that was built specifically for training, certification, and tracking of drug knowledge. The program provides drug specific courses with interactive assignments and competency exams. Clinicians can retake the courses periodically whenever their certification expires (as determined by your organization). This program enables clinicians (and their managers) to verify that their drug knowledge is complete and up to date.
To help with Memory Based Errors, which the author describes as “lapses”, we return to the point of care, right inside every RxWORKFLOW for IV Safety monograph, where clinicians find an Integrated Competency Check. Integrated Competency Checks—quick drug specific pop-up quizzes, including instant feedback, help to ensure your staff is familiar with both a drug and related dosing parameters. The quizzes act as a quick refresher, helping to confirm comprehension of the “rules” and increasing caregiver confidence.
RxTOOLKIT’s goal is to provide the infusion center clinician a single source of standardized reference, tools, and training. We can help any center to establish standardization in practice and staff training and ensure their positive patient outcomes.
For more information about these two awesome tools, RxWORKFLOW for IV Safety and Drug Specific Competency Tracking, check out these short videos, contact us, or visit RxTOOLKIT.com.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2723196/pdf/bcp0067-0599.pdf