Rogers, Katherine

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Safeguarding patients through good numeracy skillsRogers, K. (2017). Safeguarding patients through good numeracy skills. Journal of Perioperative Practice, 27(1-2), 3.Published in:Journal of Perioperative PracticeDocument Version:Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordQueen's University Belfast - Research Portal:Link to publication record in Queen's University Belfast Research PortalPublisher rights© 2015 The Association for Perioperative PracticeAll legal and moral rights reserved.General rightsCopyright for the publications made accessible via the Queen's University Belfast Research Portal is retained by the author(s) and / or othercopyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associatedwith these rights.Take down policyThe Research Portal is Queen's institutional repository that provides access to Queen's research output. Every effort has been made toensure that content in the Research Portal does not infringe any person's rights, or applicable UK laws. If you discover content in theResearch Portal that you believe breaches copyright or violates any law, please contact openaccess@qub.ac.uk.Download date:15. Feb. 20173Janua r y  / Feb rua r y  2017 -  Vo l ume 27 -  I s sues 1 & 2 -  I SSN 1750 -4589All healthcare professionals encounter numbers in a wide variety of situations during their practice. Safeguarding patients through good numeracy skills GUEST EDITORIALmeans you should ask yourself the question: based on your clinical knowledge does this answer make sense (Rogers & Hutton 2017)?In this issue, the Open Learning Zone offers some insight into the calculations required to determine infusion rates. Recommendations in the article reiterate the importance of practicing general calculation skills, as well as working with examples that are relevant to your specific area of practice. We are all familiar with the concept of “practice makes perfect” and it applies to numeracy skills just as easily as it applies to learning an instrument or a language. All healthcare professionals, irrespective of their area of expertise, should regularly practice their general calculation skills as well as any specialised calculations that are specific to their area of practice. Through regular relevant practice, self-checking and double-checking with colleagues, all healthcare professionals can help to reduce the likelihood of drug errors occurring in their practice and maintain the safety and wellbeing of patients in their care at all times. (2) missed or delayed administration of medication, or (3) administration of the wrong dose of drug – which is most frequently due to calculation error (Rogers & Hutton 2017), and is often attributed to inadequate numeracy skills to accurately calculate a drug dose. The repercussions of such professional failures can have catastrophic consequences for patient safety and wellbeing. Some calculations in healthcare are complex and require the practitioner to perform detailed and systematic numerical operations – generally, the more steps required in a calculation increases the potential risk of error. It is important that professionals working in areas requiring complex calculations are confident and regularly practice their skills for completing such calculations. In addition to practicing your calculation skills, it is always recommended that when performing calculations (particularly when working on complex calculations) that healthcare practitioners try to focus on the task of the drug calculation, ignore distractions, and check through your own working-out when finished. Full attention and concentration for all aspects of the medicine’s calculation and administration should help to reduce the potential risk of errors. Furthermore, the NMC recommends that all complex calculations are “double-checked” (or second-checked). This involves each registered nurse, or ODP, independently working through the calculation and then comparing their answers together. Once the calculation answer has been cross-checked and agreed, it is important to consider the value in the clinical context, this Nurses, Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) and all healthcare professionals, need to be confident in their ability to work with numbers, to ensure patient safety at all times and particularly when administering medicines – indeed numerical competence is a fundamental component for registration with the respective professional bodies. It is the responsibility of all NMC Approved Educational Institutions (AEIs) to ensure that students undertaking healthcare courses have sufficient literacy and numeracy skills to complete the required academic and practical components of their chosen course (McCollum & Rogers 2013). Periodically, the NMC will revise and update their published standards for safe practice in the management and administration of medicines by registered nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses; therefore it is essential that all students and registered practitioners are aware of the current standards, as failure to comply with the standards can affect patient safety and wellbeing, and risk a practitioner’s professional registration (or a student’s future registration). All drug calculations performed by nursing students must be fully checked by a registered nurse prior to administration. Time and again the media report on and publicise tragedies and near-misses that are attributed to “drug errors” when, in many situations, such drug errors are specifically due to human error. The majority of medication errors can usually be attributed one of three types of human error: (1) the wrong medication being administered, Dr Katherine MA Rogers Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, The Queen’s University of BelfastReferencesMcCollum P, Rogers KMA 2013 Practice Makes Perfect Nursing Standard 27 (24) 72Rogers KMA, Hutton M 2017 (forthcoming) Calculation Skills SmartBook for Nurses & Healthcare Professions London, McGraw-Hill EducationEditorKaren McCutcheon, Discipline Lead for Practice, Senior Lecturer Education, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastReview PanelHannah Abbott, Associate Professor and Head of School, Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences, Birmingham City UniversityJenny Abraham, Advanced Perioperative Specialist Practitioner, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust Nerys Bolton, Pathway Director, Pre-Registration Adult Nursing, Canterbury Christ Church UniversityVictoria Cadman, Lecturer in Operating Department Practice, Sheffield Hallam UniversitySonya Clarke, Senior Lecturer (Education), Professional Lead for Children’s Nursing, Pathway Leader for Orthopaedic /Trauma Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast Angela Cobbold, Senior Lecturer, Allied Health & Medicine, Faculty of Health, Social Care & Education, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLinda Cooper, Decontamination Services Manager, Belfast Health and Social Care TrustAnn Cousley, Anaesthetic Nurse Specialist, Causeway Hospital, Coleraine and Practice Education Facilitator Northern Health and Social Care TrustFelicia Cox, Senior Nurse, Pain Management, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation TrustMarie Digner, Matron/Clinical Lead, Outpatients, Royal Bolton HospitalLuke Ewart, Senior Lecturer/Pathway Director Pre-reg ODP, Canterbury Christ Church UniversityMona Guckian Fisher, Independent Healthcare ConsultantDr Theofanis Fotis, Senior Lecturer School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of BrightonEleanor Freeman, Theatre Sister and Education Lead Scrub, Theatres, Queen  Elizabeth Hospital, GatesheadLois Hamlin, Former Senior Lecturer, Director, Postgraduate Programs, University of Technology, Sydney, AustraliaLeontia Hoy, Course Director, BSc Hons/Graduate Diploma/Post Graduate Diploma-Specialist Practice, School of Nursing, Queens University Belfast,Adrian Jones, Orthopaedic Surgical Care Practitioner, Trauma & Orthopaedic Department, Norfolk & Norwich University NHS TrustHelen Lowes, Senior Lecturer, Business Development Lead for ODP, Simulation Lead for the Department of AHP, Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam UniversityMoyra Journeaux, Senior Lecturer, Nursing and Midwifery Higher Education Department, in partnership with the University of Chester, Health and Social Services, JerseyLaurence Leonard, Lecturer (Infections and Infection Control), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSue Lord, Team Leader, General, Vascular and Laparoscopic, Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust Andy Mardell, Former Practice Educator, Main Theatres, University Hospital of Wales, CardiffDaphne Martin, Lecturer (Education), Pathway Leader Specialist Practice in Anaesthetic Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastShirley Martin, Surgical Care Practitioner and Robotics Specialist Nurse, St Mary’s NHS TrustMr Greg McConaghie, Clinical Fellow in Orthopaedics, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham Amanda Parker, Director of Nursing, Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustEloise Pearson, Lecturer, School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of DundeeSusan Pirie, Lead Nurse for Practice Development, East Surrey Hospital, RedhillJulie Quick, Senior Lecturer, Operating Department Practice, Birmingham City University and Surgical Care Practitioner, Walsall Healthcare NHS TrustPaul Rawling, Senior Lecturer, ODP Education, Edge Hill University, OrmskirkBrian Smith, HE Consultant, HEA National Teaching Fellow, Registered ODPDr Susan Tame, Lecturer, University of HullDr Linda Walker, Divisional Nurse Surgery, Cardiff and Vale University Local Health BoardDr Stephen T Webb, Consultant in Intensive Care & Anaesthesia, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation TrustMr Jonathan JE White, Registrar in Trauma & Orthopaedics, East Midlands North DeaneryJPP Jan-Feb 2017.indd   3 07/12/2016   12:23      Disclaimer The views expressed in articles published by the Association for Perioperative Practice are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the policy, opinions or beliefs of AfPP.  Manuscripts submitted to the editor for consideration must be the original work of the author(s).  © 2015 The Association for Perioperative Practice All legal and moral rights reserved.    The Association for Perioperative Practice Daisy Ayris House 42 Freemans Way Harrogate HG3 1DH United Kingdom  Email: hq@afpp.org.uk Telephone: 01423 881300 Fax: 01423 880997 www.afpp.org.uk 

Safeguarding patients through good numeracy skills

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