NGH recognised for having the 'Meds Factor!'

Bev, Tom and Emily created the interactive study day

Northampton General Hospital has been shortlisted for a national patient safety award, for their work to teach staff about new medications in a fun and informative way.

The surgical practice development team, have gained the recognition from the Nursing Times, thanks to their interactive study day for staff to learn how to administer and calculate dosages for new medications.

Now in its third year, the ‘Meds Factor’ brings together interactive game sessions, inspired by popular game shows such as countdown, and pairs it with learning opportunities to create a fun informal study day.

Emily Lambert, practice development nurse described how the study day differs from traditional training: “The day is broken up into a set of 8 different popular games. None of the sessions are taught and the teams have to work together to find out the answers and win the game. We encourage people to sit next to others that they might not know to increase their learning and enable senior and junior staff to learn from each other.

“We keep the training relevant with new games and topics so those who have completed the training can repeat the sessions whenever they like. Using data from around the hospital we can tailor the games to particular areas or new medications that staff may need some training on. For example we use a countdown conundrum to teach staff about different types of pain relief as this is something which changes frequently.

“We’re really excited to have been shortlisted for the award and we are so proud to see the study day being recognised nationally.”

And it’s not just nationally that the work has been recognised. In the hospital the team have already seen the sessions making a big impact on the knowledge of staff. Since the training began the team have identified a 1500% increase of staff who scored 100% on their annual meds paper. The paper tests staff on their drug administration and calculation skills to prove their competency.

The awards take place on Wednesday 30^th October in London.