StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Thinking Aloud in Dispensing Drugs - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Medical management consists of many steps, and errors at any point along the way can lead to detrimental effects to the patient. One of these errors could be in dispensing drugs. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.3% of users find it useful
Thinking Aloud in Dispensing Drugs
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Thinking Aloud in Dispensing Drugs"

?Thinking Aloud while Dispensing Drugs Medical management consists of many steps, and errors at any point along the way can lead to detrimental effects to the patient. One of these errors could be in dispensing drugs. In a prospective study done in community pharmacies, it was found that for every 10,000 items dispensed, an average of 22 near misses and 4 dispensing errors occurred (Aschroft, Quinlan, and Blenkinsopp, 2005). Due to the large volume of drugs dispensed by pharmacies, this could easily translate into a large number of errors. Dispensing errors were most commonly attributed to being busy, being short-staffed, time constraints, fatigue, interruptions, and look-alike or sound-alike medicines (Beso, Franklin, and Barber, 2005), all of which can be experienced by most pharmacists. In this pilot study, the aim is to detect dispensing errors and eventually reduce them by using a think aloud technique. The think aloud technique is one of the strategies in human factors engineering, which is a framework for efficient and constructive thinking that are developed for healthcare teams to perform patient safety at all times (Gosbee, 2002). It has been used in clinical decision-making, and has been found to have favorable effects especially during situations wherein there are rapid and overlapping decision making processes (Lundgren-Laine, 2010). Hypotheses This study aims to find out whether using a think aloud technique will help in detecting dispensing errors. It is hypothesized that participants using a think aloud technique while dispensing drugs in the pharmacy practice lab will be able to detect their dispensing errors significantly more than participants who are silent while they carry out their dispensing activities. The null hypothesis states that there will be no significant differences in the amount of dispensing errors detected by those using the think aloud technique and those who are silent. Variables In this study, the independent variable to be studied is the use of think aloud technique. The experimental condition is thinking aloud while dispensing drugs, while the control condition is keeping silent while dispensing drugs. The dependent variables to be measured are the time it takes to dispense the drugs, the number of actions the participant makes, and the number of mistakes detected. All of these variables can be measured using an interval scale. A possible confounding variable is in difficulty in reading the prescription or drug information. These can be addressed by making sure labels are legible and the drug used is one where all participants have equal familiarity with. A possible extraneous variable is varying levels of fatigue in the participants. This can be addressed by subjecting the participant to both conditions. Selection of Participants The population selected for this study comprise of the users of the pharmacy practice lab. If the users amount to 200 individuals and the confidence level is set at 99% due to the sensitive nature of medication errors, the sample size needed is 90. Participants will be selected by simple random sampling. For this pilot study, however, the researchers will only be selecting six participants. Allocation of participants The design chosen for this study is within participants. Participants would be subjected both to the experimental condition (using think aloud technique) and the control condition (keeping silent). This is to eliminate possible confounding variables, such as level of familiarity with drugs, fatigue of participants, and vigilance. The participants, however, will be divided into two groups by randomization. The first group will undergo the experimental condition first, then the control condition after a number of days have passed. The second group will undergo the control condition first, then the experimental condition after same number of days have passed. This is to minimize carryover effects. Data analysis A within participants study with dependent variables that can be measured using an interval scale can be statistically analyzed using a multiple analysis of variance. This statistical test will show whether there are statistically significant differences in the performance of participants in the two conditions as measured by time interval, number of actions, and number of mistakes. Materials or Equipment The following materials are needed: prescriptions to fill out, drugs to choose from, and a video camera that the pharmacists will use to film themselves while dispensing drugs. The prescriptions would contain the following data: name of drug, formulation, and administration schedule. The dependent variables will be measured with a stopwatch (for the time interval), and by tallying the number of movements and number of errors detected using a pen and paper. The counters are ideally blinded to the experimental design. Bias Using a within-participants design can effectively eliminate participant factors such as fatigue, intelligence, or skills, as the group of participants are the same for both conditions. However, a possible bias is the occurrence of carryover effects, wherein the participants may learn from the first condition and carryover the new knowledge or skill to the second condition. This may result in better outcomes for the second condition. Another carryover effect is fatigue, wherein the participants may not perform well in the second condition due to fatigue from the first condition. This can be addressed by having a sufficient time interval between performing the two conditions and by randomizing which condition should be done first. In effect, half of the participants will first dispense drugs using the think aloud technique, then after a few days, dispense drugs while being silent. The other half would first dispense drugs while being silent, wait a few days, and then dispense drugs using the think aloud technique. To assure that there are no statistically significant differences between these two groups, a statistical test should be performed and show that there are no significant differences. Informed Consent All participants would be briefed about the nature of the study and asked to sign an informed consent. Questions and clarifications will be addressed. Safety and Ethical Issues Participants will not be exposed to physical harm in this experiment. To ensure that no emotional damage is done, they will be debriefed after the experiment. The researchers will explain the nature of errors in dispensing drugs and why steps are being taken to optimize the working conditions. References Aschcroft, D. M., Quinlan, P., and Blenkinsoop, A. (2005). Prospective study of the incidence, nature, and causes of dispensing errors in community pharmacies. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 14(5), 327-332. Beso, A., Franklin, B. D., and Barber, N. (2005). The frequency and potential causes of dispensing errors in a hospital pharmacy. Pharm World Sci, 27, 182-190. Gosbee, J. (2002). Human factors engineering and patient safety. Quality and Safety Health Care, 11, 352-354. Lundgren-Laine, H. (2010). Think-aloud technique and protocol analysis in clinical decision-making research. Qualitative Health Research, 20(4), 565-575. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Thinking Aloud in Dispensing Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/health-sciences-medicine/1430778-thinking-aloud-in-dispensing-drugs
(Thinking Aloud in Dispensing Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
https://studentshare.org/health-sciences-medicine/1430778-thinking-aloud-in-dispensing-drugs.
“Thinking Aloud in Dispensing Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/health-sciences-medicine/1430778-thinking-aloud-in-dispensing-drugs.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Thinking Aloud in Dispensing Drugs

Administration of Medications

In the same way, extra care should be applied while extracting drugs from large containers, and rim of the container must be wiped after taking solutions or suspensions.... While administering medication, the nurse must make sure that the drugs are kept in order in a proper place, ensuring that they are not freely accessible to patients or the public.... Nurse must be very careful while dealing with the drugs, knowing exactly the abbreviations of the mediations as well as their action, dosage, indication, route, effects, etc....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Medication Errors - from the Nursing Perspective

Some of the major medication errors that will be focused in this paper include the following, Over dosage of the medicine, or the route of administration Failure to prescribe or administer the exact drug to the patients Lack of observation – failure to observe the correct time of administration, this may be due to the difficulties in understanding the prescription and confusion about the different drugs which has similar names.... hellip; These include illegibly written prescriptions, dispensing errors, calculation errors, etc....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Drug Epidemics

Variations in the use and abuse of numerous drugs at a time or another have been described as drug epidemics.... Abuse of prescription drugs among college students has become an increasing trend in a lot of campuses.... Students use these drugs in huge volumes not only to get feelings of intoxication, but also to help them to concentrate for tests or papers, to alleviate themselves from depression or anxiety as well as to help improve their stamina for sports and athletics....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Florida v. Harris and Florida v. ardines

Wheetley, pulled over a driver for a routine check-post stop and insisted on searching the vehicle after his trained K-9 dog indicated that side door handle reflects some traces of drugs content.... Consistent in all global legislative systems, legal cases are initially sought out in lower and trial courts....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

What Is the Impact of a Pharmacist in Cardiac Surgery

Though economic concerns have been the major drivers towards carving a new role for pharmacists in community healthcare and specialty wards, pharmacists can make an important contribution towards containing prescription errors especially antibiotic errors and in the management of crucial drugs like warfarin in intensive therapy units.... Services Provided by a PharmacistCompounding of drugs is not the most important function of a pharmacist, since most drugs are manufactured by pharmaceutical companies in a standard dosage and delivery form....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Drugs and Economic Factors on crime

In the early 1990's Washington D.... .... was known as the murder capital of the United States.... This inglorious distinction was awarded to it because of the violent crimes that took place during that period.... … The number of homicides peaked in 1991 to 482 but gradually over the years the incidence of crime has reduced in Washington D....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Humor of Woody Allen

She is openly shown taking drugs in only one scene when she goes on a date with Mickey (played by Allen).... Yet the scene that ensues after she takes drugs is full of gaffes and jokes and it ends up with Hannah being cured of her drug problem.... In the film Annie Hall, when Annie is almost being induced to try drugs, the character of Alvy tries the drug and sneezes the powder all over the room, thereby dispelling the frightening moment when Annie could have slipped into that dangerous state in a puff of powder humor, and the problem ends right there and the time bomb is defused....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Written Communication Assessment in Pharmacology

The forum was able to provide a picture about the different pharmaceutical organizations in Australia that we, as future pharmacists may be members of.... The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is considered to be the “national professional organization for pharmacists in… It was founded in 1977 by the state pharmaceutical societies....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us