A DESCRIPTIVE EXPLORATORY STUDY ON NURSES' EXPERIENCE IN THE USE OF ELECTRONIC MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION RECORDS

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this research study was to describe the experiences of nurses using the eMAR in an acute hospital in Singapore. Background: Medication administration is an integral part of nursing work which requires skills and specific knowledge. To reduce medication error incidences, healthcare information technologies inclusive of electronic medication administration records (eMAR) have been implemented. Existing knowledge have shown that despite the benefits of the eMAR, challenges have surfaced with its implementation. However, studies on nurses' experiences with the eMAR are a handful and are mostly done in the Western context. Limited research has been done in the Asian context and Singapore especially. This necessitates the exploration of other possible experiences of nurses using the eMAR in Singapore to spur improvements in current nursing practices. Design: A descriptive qualitative study was adopted in this study. Methods: Convenience sampling was used to recruit 10 participants from two acute general medical wards in a tertiary hospital that has been utilizing eMAR for two years in Singapore. Individual, face-to-face unstructured interviews were conducted over two months. Colaizzi's seven-step framework was used to guide data analysis. Results: Two main themes regarding nurses' experiences with the use of the eMAR emerged from data analysis, namely, 'Positive Experiences' and 'Negative Experiences'. Conclusion: Study findings have provided valuable insights into the subjective experiences of nurses using the eMAR. These findings have identified that healthcare institutions should focus on strengthening technical support for systems, introducing additional verifications, encouraging verbal updates and improvements in eMAR functions. Strategies such as communication and attending workshops could also be taken by nurses to maintain the nurse-patient relationship. This research study serves as a basis for future research to further explore nurses' experiences with the eMAR, especially in other healthcare settings, to better improve medication administration practices.