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Dr. Lim is Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, and Dr. Honey is Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland School of Nursing, Auckland, New Zealand.
The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
Medication management-the administration of medication, monitoring of its side effects, and patient teaching-has long been a role for nurses ( Choo, Hutchinson, & Bucknall, 2010 ). However, effectively performing medication management requires the use of clinical judgment. Nursing practice is characterized by making clinical judgments every day in practice ( Thompson & Dowding, 2009 ). For example, nurses spend a significant amount of time assessing a patient's current and previous conditions, identifying clinical deterioration, and even predicting potential events related to the patient's condition. Banning ( 2008 ) suggested that as nurses become more experienced, the process of clinical decision making becomes easier and more manageable. Benner ( 1984 ) was the first to describe skill development in nursing, from a novice nurse to an expert. Benner ( 1984 ) suggested that nursing skills, including clinical judgment, develop and change as the new graduate moves from being an advanced beginner toward becoming an expert nurse. Currently, little is known about newly graduated nurses (i.e., advanced beginner nurses), ability to provide safe medication management and apply their pharmacology knowledge in a clinical context. This article explores how newly graduated nurses in one urban New Zealand hospital setting perceived how they applied pharmacology knowledge to practice.
Background
Nurses have a key role in the safe and effective administration of medication ( Choo et al., 2010 ; Simonsen, Daehlin, Johansson, & Farup, 2014 ). For effective medication administration, nurses need a knowledge base of pharmacotherapeutics ( Meechan, Mason, & Catling, 2011 ). Knowledge of pharmacotherapeutics relies on clinical context, including knowing the patient and being able to monitor and evaluate the effects of the given medications. To manage medications effectively, Cleary-Holford and Leufer ( 2013 ) proposed that nurses must have a comprehensive understanding of the scientific principles underpinning medications. More important, it has been suggested that nurses must be able to contextualize medication management to the complex and changing needs of their patients ( Cleary-Holford & Leufer, 2013 ); however, this may be challenging for new graduates.
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