In the nursing practice, different routes of administering medication exist depending on the patient’s condition. For patients with an enteral feeding tube, nurses often use the enteral tube as a route for administering medication. However, in case of inappropriate administration of the drugs through the enteral tube, the patient’s safety stands at risk with negative outcomes expected for such a patient. Among the negative results of unsuitable use of enteral tubes in administering medication include aspiration pneumonia, diarrhea, as well as complications in the respiratory system due to tube occlusion and tube reattachment. Worse still, affected patients may remain in hospital beds for extended periods of time due to these complications and in the worst case scenario, the complications result in the patient’s mortality.
Notably, liquid forms of drugs may be administered through the enteral feeding tube. However, where the patient’s medication includes solid drugs without substitute liquid forms or where liquid forms of the same drug may be inaccessible, it becomes a challenge for the nurses. As a result, nurses often use a crushing technique for the solid drugs to facilitate their administration through the feeding tube. All the same, the efficacy of the crushing technique has been found wanting. A study by Seifert & Johnston (2005), showed that where modified release drugs forms of prescription medication are administered, particularly through routine crushing, undesirable consequences occur to the patients. In fact, the study established that tube occlusion occurs at a ratio that exceeds 10 percent. In turn, it predisposes the patient to complications as a result of tube occlusion. Thus, it remains exceedingly necessary for nurses to apply the evidence-based guidelines in enteral administration of medication to provide for enhanced patient safety and eliminate complications resulting from enteral administration of medication.
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Problem statement
Nurses, particularly those working in intensive care units, make use of the enteral route of drug administration. Considering the state of most patient in intensive units, administering medication through the enteral feeding tubes takes place frequently. Nevertheless, it has been established through various studies on this area that nurses demonstrate extensive application of methods that do not follow the stipulated standards during enteral administration of medication. The major concern lies in the fact that where medication is not administered in the appropriate way enterally, then it serves as a causal factor for undesirable health outcomes for the patient. Other than suffering complications and an extended length of stay at the hospital, patients stand a risk of mortality due to inappropriate methods of enteral administration of medication.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application of evidence-based practice recommendations during the administration of medication through enteral feeding tubes among nurses deployed in hospital treatment units (Nurcan Uysal PhD, et al., 2016). A critique of the purpose shows that it is clear and relevant to the nursing practice. As a matter of fact, knowledge and skills on enteral administration of medication requires meticulous attention as nursing mistakes during such a process can result in life threatening consequences for the patient. Moreover, the study purpose indicates a massive need for the study as the findings from the study will enhance the nursing practice as well as enrich the existing body of knowledge.
Hypothesis
The researchers hypothesized that nurses who have not received special training or have insufficient training on enteral administration of medication are likely to use methods that do not conform to the evidence-based practice recommendations and may jeopardize the safety of patients fed enterally. A critique of the hypothesis shows that the study clearly outlined both the dependent and the independent variables. Since the researchers omitted a clear section on the study hypothesis, reading through the paper shows a clear manifestation of the hypothesis although not clearly outlined. Overall, the hypothesis reveals the purpose of the study as intended by the researchers.
References
Nurcan Uysal PhD, R. N., Hatice Yildirim Sari PhD, R. N., Gok, D. D., & Maslak, O. O. (2016). Evaluation Nurses' Practices for Medication Administration Via Enteral Feeding Tube. International Journal of Caring Sciences , 9(3), 1058.
