Impact of an interactive online nursing educational module on insulin errors in hospitalized pediatric patients

Abstract

OBJECTIVE - To determine the effectiveness of an online module for reducing insulin administration errors by nurses caring for hospitalized pediatric patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Pediatric nursing staff completed a mandatory online educational module teaching insulin pharmacokinetics and the insulin order form, using diluted insulin and finishing with 15 interactive cases. A chart audit to determine all possible insulin errors of patients receiving insulin was done before and 2-6 months after the educational module. RESULTS - All of the medical center's 283 pediatric nurses successfully completed the educational module. A total of 24 charts were audited in the preintervention phase and 22 in the postintervention phase. The preintervention insulin error rate was 14.8%, reduced to 1.7% (P< 0.001) postintervention. Improvement occurred in correct insulin dosing and type, timing of administration, and timely blood glucose monitoring and documentation. CONCLUSIONS - An interactive online educational module can be an effective strategy for reducing pediatric nurses' insulin administration errors. © 2010 by the American Diabetes Association.