ABSTRACT
This will be one of the areas you will be worrying about most. It may be that you have not had much experience of drug rounds during your training. You may be required to undertake assessed drug rounds. This will ensure that both you and your mentor are confident that you are competent. You will normally need to do a set number of assessed rounds, but if you still do not feel confident you must tell your mentor. It may be that you need more experience to really feel competent. You will feel very conscious of the fact that you are taking much longer than the other nurses on the ward to do your drug rounds. This is completely acceptable, and your manager would worry if you were as quick as someone who had been qualified for ten years. Because you will need to look up many of the drugs you are giving in the British National Formulary (BNF), you are bound to take longer. Don’t be tempted to give a drug when you don’t know what it is or its actions, just to save time. It is more important to be safe than to do your drug round quickly. If you make a drug error at this early stage, your 38confidence will be reduced further at a time when you already feel less confident than the experienced staff.
