Fundamentals of Midwifery: A Textbook for Students (145 page)

Side effects of medication.

Issues for your practice.

This chapter has identified the process which students and midwives should use when manag-

ing medicines; this involves the identification of key points when great care needs to be taken. As medication errors is a key area of concern for Trusts and the Department of Health due to the number of errors which occur, this is essential information for all healthcare workers involved in prescribing or giving medication. Specific information around pharmacology has been dis- cussed and related to some of the key medicines used within the maternity services. Students and midwives need to keep up to date in relation to medicines management and the introduc- tion of new medicines, how this can be achieved has been explored.

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Occurs in the liver

The amount of the medicine which becomes available for use

How the body removes the medicine from the body

A medicine which binds to a receptor to produce a specific response

What can happen after giving a drug

The term that is used to describe what a drug does to the body

There are at least 9 of these
Down

Something which needs to happen before
9.
The term that is used to describe what the a drug can be used by the body body does to the drug

This is essential to check before giving any
11.
A medicine which binds to a receptor to medication. block a response

The process by which a medicine is chemi-
12.
What medicine management must never cally changed be seen as

What to do if you are unsure about a
14.
Something which must be gained before medicine giving any medication

What a patient can do
16.
This must be completed once the medica-

How a drug gets around the body tion has been given
8.
Type of enzymes that could present as a
18.
What is needed when giving medication challenge to oral absorption of a medicine
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Find out more
Below is a list of things you can find out about to enhance your knowledge of the issues and topics covered in this chapter. Make notes using the chapter content, the references and further reading identified, local policies and guidelines and discussions with colleagues.Numeracy is an essential skill in order to undertake safe administration of medicines. There- fore, it can be helpful to practice drug calculations, there are appropriate texts which include tests, as well as websites where this skill can be practised, as outlined below.
Access the following textbook
Chernecky, C., Butler, S., Graham, P., Infortuna, H. (2006)
Drug Calculations and Drug Administration
. London: WB Saunders.
Access the following textbook
Keogh, J. (2009)
Dosage Calculations Demystified
. London: McGraw Hill.
Access the following textbook
Lapham, R., Agar, H. (2009)
Drug Calculations for Nurses: A Step by Sept Approach
. London: Hodder Education.
Access the following textbook
McFadden, R. (2009)
Introducing Pharmacology for Nursing and Healthcare
, 2nd edn. Essex: Pearson.
Access the following textbook
Rang, H.P., Dale, M.M., Ritter, J.M., Flower, R., Henderson, G. (2012)
Rang and Dale’s Pharmacology
, 7th edn. Edinburgh: Elsevier.
Access the drug calculations for health professionals website
[online] Available: http://www.testandcalc.com/
Read the NMC Guidelines
The NMC publish guidelines and standards around professional issues which include medicine management, therefore it is important to make sure that you are aware of the most up to date documents which should be referred to and these can be accessed [online] available: http://www.nmc-uk.org/.
Read the NMC circular 07/2011
This circular explains what midwifery exemptions are and the role that student midwives can take in administering these medications.http://www.nmc-uk.org/Documents/Circulars/2011Circulars/nmcCircular07-2011-Midwives-Exemptions.pdfYou should make sure that this is the most up to date information available.
Access the Trust Drug Policy and Guidelines
The Trust in which you work will also have policies and procedures around medicine management and it is important to make sure you are aware of these. These can usually be found on the Trust intranet, you should discuss this with your mentor. There are certain aspects of medicine management which students are not able to take part in; this should be discussed with your programme leader or mentor. The NMC give guidance and information about this as well as the MRHA [online] Available: http://www.mhra.gov.uk/ index.htm#page=DynamicListMedicinesYou should pay particular attention to the rules and regulations around midwives exemptions.
For more information visit the websites
Central Alerting System NHS https://www.cas.dh.gov.uk/Home.aspxEMC Medicine Guides http://www.medicines.org.uk/GuidesMedicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority http://www.mhra.gov.uk/#page=DynamicListMedicinesNational Institute for Health and Social Care http://www.nice.org.uk/NHS Patient Safety http://www.nrls.npsa.nhs.uk/National Patient Safety Agency http://npsa.nhs.uk/Nursing and Midwifery Council http://www.nmc-uk.org/Publications-/British National Formulary http://www.bnf.org/bnf/index.htm343
Glossary of terms
Absorption
The uptake of a substance by the tissues of the body.
Agonist
This is a medicine which binds to a receptor and produces a specific response.
Antagonist
This is a medicine which when bound to a receptor does not produce a response; its action is to block.
Bioavailability
This is the proportion of an administered dose which will reach the circulation unaltered, and therefore will be able to have an effect.
Blood–brain barrier
A structure which protects the central nervous system.
Buccal
Of or relating to the mouth cavity.