Medication Safety Education in Undergraduate Pharmacy and Nursing Schools in the UK and Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction: This thesis focused on medication and patient safety from a global perspective (UK and Saudi Arabia), the rationale being the increase in medication error incidents resulting from a lack of proper patient safety education in nursing and pharmacy programmes which contribute to serious patient safety issues. Literature revealed the limitations on achieving positive outcomes in nursing and pharmacy education. Aim: to identify current medication and patient safety education in these countries and to analyse factors affecting adequate teaching and recommendations for improvement. Research Methodology: A systematic narrative review and mixed method research design were used to investigate many educational issues. Data Collection: used literature search for published papers, document review, semi-structured individual interviews and focus group for qualitative data and a questionnaire for quantitative data. Data Analysis: used systematic narrative analysis, thematic analysis and various statistical techniques to analyse data (separate data review for pharmacy and nursing). Results: revealed a disagreement on the explicitness and mode of integration, diverse content delivery, many educational didactic and interactive methods, a growing interest in simulation methods, the inter-professional learning method, curriculum guides and educational framework were rarely used and obstacles to integrating medication safety were identified. Furthermore, students’ confidence in learning about patient safety domains between classroom and clinical settings differed. Conclusion: Although medication and patient safety education is well received, strategies are needed to improve medication and patient safety education to allow for effective integration in the curriculum. UK and Saudi Arabian educational and health sector policymakers should prioritise improving medication and patient safety education. Recommendations: Future researches should investigate the content, methods of delivering medication and patient safety education, curriculum guides, framework for teaching and factors that prevent the effective integration of medication safety education. Students’ confidence in patient safety topics in classroom and clinical settings needs evaluation.