Prevention of Medication Errors from a Healthcare Management Perspective: An Interprofessional Interview Project

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TTUHSC Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE) Experience

Title of the Interprofessional Practice and Education Experience

Prevention of Medication Errors from a Healthcare Management Perspective: An Interprofessional Interview Project

Experience Status

Approved

Approval Date Range

4/21/2017 - 9/3/2025

Detailed Description and Purpose of the IPE Experience

Medication errors are one of the leading causes of adverse patient incidents in health care settings and often result in medical malpractice cases. As such, medication safety is a concern and interprofessional education is vital for preparing healthcare administration students for their roles as clinical department leaders and well as general administrative leaders that set safety, budgetary, and culture standards that can mitigate medication errors. Knowing about and valuing the skills and responsibilities of other team members and respecting each person's role in the team leads to more effective communication and collaboration in the context of medication safety. The purpose of this project is to offer management students in the BSHM program a opportunity to become familiar with a patient's healthcare team, including pharmacists and others that may be involved in the medication care-giving chain. The Healthcare Management Program (BSHM) is an on-line Bachelor of Science degree that prepares the student to enter management and leadership positions within healthcare organizations. Emphasis is placed on relating the knowledge and skills to real-world applications in healthcare settings. Through an interprofessional interview with a pharmacist or other care-giving chain member (e.g. nurse, nurse aide, physician, etc) BSHM students will better understand their professional roles and those of others around the theme of medication safety and prevention of medication errors.

This didactic IPE learning activity has the following components:

1. Interprofessional Mini-Series: Students will watch an interprofessional mini-series. Currently, two interprofessional mini-series have been developed at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center. Each interprofessional mini-series promotes leadership and professional development in the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) “core” competency domains including (1) roles and responsibilities, (2) interprofessional communication, (3) values/ethics, and (4) teams and teamwork. The interprofessional mini-series serves to provide an IPE learning platform for students in preparation for collaborative care experiences on clinical rotation. The interprofessional mini-series includes high definition videos arranged in 12 individual learning episodes, as well as a single feature film. The 12 episodes depict both ideal and dramatized interprofessional and student/preceptor interactions, followed by educational commentary. Each episode is designed to include entertainment, student/preceptor scenarios, student/preceptor expert commentary, and student/preceptor learning pearls.

a. The Reason I Jump: An Interprofessional Mini-Series: This interprofessional mini-series includes the professions of occupational therapy, nursing, medicine, pharmacy, athletic training, emergency medical services, and speech-language pathology. The trailer for The Reason I Jump: An Interprofessional Mini-Series can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdAUqjjzRLM.
b. Change of Heart: An Interprofessional Mini-Series: This interprofessional mini-series includes the professions of nursing, pharmacy, medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology. The trailer for Change of Heart: An Interprofessional Mini-Series can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1i79XDQHB4.

2. Interprofessional Interview: After viewing the mini-series, students will select a healthcare professional to interview about their roles and responsibilities in medication safety and reporting medication errors. Students will then develop a set of interview questions for the healthcare professions. Students will then interview a health care professional, such as a pharmacist or other pertinent clinical role, in their community utilizing a set of content questions, as well as questions about role's and responsibilities and communication strategies concerning mitigating medication errors.
Sample interview questions could include:
a. What other disciplines does the pharmacist (or other relevant caregiver) interact with on a daily basis?
b. How does this caregiver interact with these other disciplines? Include at least two examples.
c. What common medication errors are seen in the pharmacy or elsewhere?
d. What is the process of reporting a medication error? Is it efficient and effective?
e. What strategies are in place to prevent medication errors?
f. What kind of education is provided to pharmacists or relevant patient care staff regarding new medications?

3. Discussion Forum: Students will then reflect upon the answers given during the interview and present them in a discussion forum. Student will reflect on both the content of the interview relevant to preventing medication errors, as well as on collaborative care, teamwork, and communication strategies necessary to prevent errors.

Learning objectives:
1. Students will describe a health professional's and organization’s responsibility in the prevention of medication errors.
2. Students will give examples of the importance of written and verbal communication with other professionals in the prevention and reporting of medication errors.
3. Students will illustrate that teamwork and collaborative care are essential skills in medication safety and prevention of errors.
4. Students will generate a plan for their role as a leader to support a culture of safety in their organization.

Target Audiences

IPE Learning Objectives for the Experience