to prevent medication errors keep in mind the six rights of medication administration each time you prepare to administer a drug right medication right dose right patient right route right time and right documentation let's take a quick look at each beginning with the right medication review the medication administration record or ma R to make sure it is clear and complete the order must include the patient's full name the drug ordered the dosage and route of administration and the time of administration with prepackaged unit dose medications check the label against the ma r when you take the medication out of the dispensing system then check the label against the MA R as you place it in the medicine cup and check it again at the patient's bedside if the medication requires preparation and is not in its original container be sure to label it include the name of the drug its strength the amount and the expiration date or time if you must prepare a dose from a larger volume or strength or if the prescriber orders the medication in a system of measurement that's different from what the pharmacy supplies calculate the dose or make the conversion carefully hey Jessica can you verify this calculation please ask another nurse to do the same calculation independently and compare your results to confirm that you've calculated the dose correctly that's what I have thank you when you administer insulin a narcotic a sedative or an anticoagulant follow current guidelines for administering high alert medications and remember these other important safety guidelines to make sure you give the right dose for a liquid medication use a standard measuring device such as a syringe or a graduated medication cup ask the pharmacy to split tablets for you or use a cutting device and only split tablets that are scored discard any pill that doesn't break evenly if you need to crush a tablet mix it with a small amount of food or liquid to make it easier to swallow never crush sublingual enteric-coated or extended-release tablets always ensure you have the right patient by using to identify errs for example check his ID band compare it with the ma AR and ask the patient to state his full name and birthdate do not use the patient's room number for identification the right root should be specified in the medication order if the root is missing from the order or if it's not the recommended route for the medication consult the prescriber immediately for an injection be sure to use only a preparation intended for parenteral use injection of an oral medication can be life-threatening parenteral medications must be labeled for injectable use only to observe the right time follow your agency's recommended schedule for routine medications in general give non time critical medications within one to two hours of the scheduled time for time critical medications stat doses must be given immediately and now doses must be administered within 60 minutes of receiving the order use your clinical judgment about the timing of other doses for example if a drug must be given with food administer it within 30 minutes after a meal always observe the right documentation document any patient pre-assessments you performed by recording your entry as soon as possible after giving the drug as shown in the video skill documenting medication administration as part of your follow-up care document the patient's response to PRN medications teach the patient about his medication and remained vigilant to avoid medication errors to learn about your rights and responsibilities as a nurse see the video skill preventing medication errors