Use of dimensional analysis to reduce medication errors

• Published in: The Journal of nursing education Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 91 - 94
• Main Authors: Greenfield, Sue, Whelan, Barbara, Cohn, Elizabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States SLACK INCORPORATED 01.02.2006
• Subjects: Attitude of Health Personnel; Clinical Competence - standards; Control Groups; Curriculum; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Dimensional analysis; Drug Therapy - nursing; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate - organization & administration; Hospitals; Humans; Mathematics; Mathematics Skills; Medical errors; Medication Errors - nursing; Medication Errors - prevention & control; Medication Errors - statistics & numerical data; New York; Nurses; Nursing; Nursing Education Research; Nursing Students; Pilot Projects; Problem Solving; Safety Management; Students, Nursing - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teaching Methods; Thinking; Thinking Skills; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 0148-4834; 1938-2421
• DOI: 10.3928/01484834-20060201-09

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether using dimensional analysis as the method of mathematical computation could reduce nursing medication calculation errors. The sample for this study consisted of second-year baccalaureate nursing students in a required clinical skills course. Students in the control group were taught medication calculations using the traditional math method during one semester, whereas students in the experimental group were taught the same material using dimensional analysis during the next semester. Analysis of the collected data from a medication dosage calculation examination revealed the dimensional analysis group scored with greater accuracy than the traditional math group.