The Benefit of Houseofficer Education on Proper Medication Dose Calculation and Ordering
作者:Lewis S. Nelson、Peter E. Gordon、Marc D. Simmons、William L. Goldberg、Mary Ann Howland、Robert S. Hoffman
DOI:10.1111/j.1553-2712.2000.tb00481.x
日期:2000.11
Abstract. Objectives: Drug dosing errors commonly cause morbidity and mortality. This prospective controlled study was performed to determine: 1) residents' understanding of drug dose calculations and ordering; and 2) the short‐term effect of a brief educational intervention on the skills required to properly calculate dosages and order medications. Methods: The study was conducted at an urban public hospital with a four‐year emergency medicine (EM) residency program. The EM residents served as the study group and were unaware of the study design. A written, eight‐question test (T1) with clinical situations and factual questions was administered. Immediately following the test, correct answers were discussed for 30 minutes. Key concepts were emphasized. Six weeks later, a repeat test (T2a) with a similar format was administered to the study group. The same test (T2b) was simultaneously administered to a control group, residents of similar training who did not take T1, in order to determine test equivalency (T1 vs T2). Tests were graded using explicit criteria by a single investigator blinded to the order of administration. Results: Twenty residents completed both tests T1 and T2a. Their mean scores were 48% and 70%, respectively (p < 0.001, paired t‐test). The control group of ten residents had a mean score of 49% (T2b), similar to the study group's scores on T1 (T1 vs T2b, p = 0.40, unpaired t‐test). Conclusion: Emergency medicine residents require specific training in calculating and executing drug ordering. A brief educational intervention significantly improved short‐term performance when retested six weeks later. Long‐term retention is unknown.