Comparison of the effects of medication error encouragement training and low-fidelity simulation on the medication safety competence and knowledge of nursing students: A quasi-experimental study

Introduction: Medication safety is a key indicator of healthcare quality and an essential component of patient safety. Medication errors threaten medication safety, causing harm to patients and leading to psychological and financial consequences for both patients and healthcare providers. There has been a significant increase in medication errors among nursing students. Among the main causes of medication errors are insufficient education, which leads to a lack of knowledge and competency in safe medication administration. Medication error encouragement training and low-fidelity simulation are among the new educational methods in the field of safe medication administration training. This study aimed to compare the effects of two methods-medication error encouragement training and low-fidelity simulation-on the knowledge and competency of medication safety among nursing students. Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental, two blinded, two-group design conducted in 2023. Sixty-four thirdyear nursing students were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. The students' medication safety knowledge was assessed through self-report, and their medication safety competence was evaluated using a scenario as a pretest. Subsequently, one group underwent medication error encouragement training, while the other group experienced low-fidelity simulation. Afterward, the participants' medication safety competence was assessed post-intervention using a different scenario from the pretest, with their performance observed and their medication safety knowledge score self-reported. Data collection was done through the Medication Safety Critical Element Checklist and Medication Safety Knowledge Assessment. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 16, with a significance level set at 0.05. Results: The independent sample t-test revealed no significant difference between the knowledge and medication safety competence scores of the two groups before the intervention (P > 0.05). The paired sample t-test indicated a significant increase in the scores of knowledge and medication safety competence for both groups after the intervention (P < 0.05). Additionally, the MANCOVA test demonstrated a significant increase in the medication safety competence score for the medication error encouragement training group compared to the low-fidelity simulation group after the intervention (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference was found in the medication safety knowledge scores between the two groups after the intervention (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The study results indicate that both medication error encouragement training and low-fidelity simulation play a significant role in enhancing the knowledge and medication safety competence of nursing students. Therefore, it is recommended that nursing educators incorporate these two methods in medication safety training.