In this instructional video, Christina Rafano, creator of the Nursing School Show, walks nursing students through the six fundamental rights of medication administration: right patient, right medication, right dose, right time, right route, and right documentation. She explains why each right is critical for patient safety and nurse licensure, provides concrete verification steps (e.g., using two unique patient identifiers, double‑checking the MAR at multiple points, performing medication math with a six‑step dimensional analysis, confirming therapeutic ranges, timing doses correctly, matching the ordered route, and documenting administration and patient education). Rafano also highlights common pitfalls, offers a free dose‑calculation cheat sheet, promotes her nursing school resource boxes, and invites viewers to join her Nursing SOS Membership Community for ongoing support. The video emphasizes that nurses are the patient’s last line of defense and that strict adherence to these checks prevents medication errors and protects lives.
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In this video, I am walking you through the six rights of medication administration for any medication that you'll be giving in nursing school. I'll walk you through the six steps, step by step, so that you can follow them exactly and give your medications safely and properly in nursing school. So hit that subscribe button and click the notification bell. Let's dive in. Hey there, friend. My name is Christina Rafano, and I am the creator of the Nurse Nursing School show. Welcome. I'm here to help you get better grades and have more free time in nursing school. Yes, that's possible. And today we are going through the six rights of medication administration. Sometimes there's a lot more. Sometimes your school will go over less. We're gonna do six. These are super important friends. So listen closely and let's do it. So giving medications and clinical at clinical can be super scary. So think about it. You're the patient's last line of defense, right? You cannot make a medication error. There is simply too much at risk here, namely a patient's life. The stakes are just too high. So that is why it is so important to really follow the proper medication checks before you give any medication to a patient. Not only will this help keep the patient safe, but it will also help you protect your license as a nurse. So let's go through each of these six steps and break down why it is important and what it actually means you will be doing as a nurse or nursing student giving your medications in this way. Now, the first right of medication administration is right patient. Of course, this is the first step. We want to make sure that we are giving the medication to the intended patient. So to ensure this, you will want to use two unique identifiers before you give any medications to your patient. Now, what is a unique identifier? Well, it is something that is unique to only this patient. Could be their full name, date of birth, or medical record number are the three identifying factors. Using two of those three is the best standard standard of care. You can either ask the patient for their full name and date of birth and then verified it with their MAR or their medication administration record and their name band. Or you can verify the information between the patient's name ban and the mar. Now, this means that the identifying information cannot be the room number or the floor number, because those can change and they're not always individual to the patient. So two unique identifiers. So stick with the patient's full name, their date of birth, or their medical record number, and verify those against the mar. Now, the second right is the right medication. In order to make sure that you are giving the right medication, you will want to verify the MAR with the medication while pulling your medications from the med cart. And then likely you will be pulling out more than one medication at the time. So, so verifying each one when you are pulling them out is the first check. Then you will want to compare the medication to the MAR after pulling the medication out as you are heading into the patient's room. And then the last check will be to verify that medication to the MAR when you are popping the medication into the med cup at the patient's bedside. And those three additional right medication checks are important to make sure that you are giving the right medication through every step of the process. Now, the next right is the one that nursing students can get really hung up on and that is the right dose. Now this means a few different steps will need to take place to verify that this is in fact the correct dose of medication. You will want to check the math to verify that the right dose was ordered and then the correct amount is about to be given to the patient. So this means really double checking the medication math. And if you've been with me for a while, you know that the only way I ever recommend doing med math, medication math is our six step dimensional analysis or railroad track method so that you get the correct answer every single time on a dose calc problem. So you can check out more on that in this video. And in that video I'm going to walk you through the six step process to get dose calc problems right every single time. Now I also have a free cheat sheet for you that you can download that walks you through step by step for async dose calc. Now that cheat sheet will be super helpful for you in making sure that you are getting the medication math correct every single time. I'll put the link down below in the description for you to check out all the details on that cheat sheet. Now back to the third medication right, the right dose. Once you have figured out that the actual medication math is done correctly, you will want to really make sure that the dose itself is within a safe and therapeutic range for your patient and the intended use. Now to do this, you'll have to check in your drug guide or check in with the pharmacy to make sure that that intended dose is safe and therapeutic for your patient. Now the fourth right is the right time. Now the medication order will specify the spacing of the medication between the doses and then how frequent it is supposed to be given. So your job as the nurse is to make sure that the spacing is correct and make sure that it is in fact the right time for the medication. Now, things happen, medications get delayed. But as the nurse, you need to make sure that you're paying patients medications are given when they are supposed to be given or intended to in order to help them achieve the most therapeutic response to that medication. So what does this look like as a nurse? Well, let's just say in your medication, if your medication is delivered late from the pharmacy and it's supposed to be given every six hours, you will need to make sure that you are not only documenting that you gave it, but that the next dose is timed correctly. Now, that way the next dose isn't given too early. So see how that works. Now, this also means that you should always double check when the last dose was given to be sure that your spacing is accurate and that the medication is being given as ordered. Now, this sounds simple, but in the real nursing world, with the unpredictability of patients, then checking on the timing of that last dose and the subsequent doses is crucial so that you don't give a medication too early or miss one altogether. Now, the fifth right is the right route. So this could mean is the medication ordered to be given via the correct route, iv, po, gt, ngt, sub Q, im, et cetera, all the things. So make sure that the route that is ordered for the patient is the exact way that you will be administering it. So if you're giving your patient a medication via a gastrostomy tube and it's ordered po, you will need to have that order changed then to match the route it is being given. The dosing can be route specific. So making sure that the correct route is ordered is a very important step that really cannot be overlooked. Now, the sixth right is making sure that you have the right documentation complete completed. Be sure to correctly document that you gave the medication and be sure that you are following your facility's policy on this. Documentation will also include documenting that you educated the patient on the medication, making sure that they know why they are taking the medication, what some of the possible side effects could be, things to look for and what they need to know about that medication. And then all that education will need to be documented in the patient's chart so that you give yourself credit for all the hard work that you just did to give your medications and keep your patients safe. So those are your six rights. Right patient, right medication, right dose, right time, right route, and right documentation. Now remember, you are your patient's last line of defense and you cannot make a medication error, right? The stakes are simply too high. A patient's life is in your hands every time that you administer a medication to them. That is why it is so, so important to follow the proper six medication checks before you give any medication to a patient. Now there's three ways that I can help you more through Nursing School. Be sure to download this Dose Calc cheat sheet. Like we talked about earlier on in this video, you do not want to miss out on that. It's going to walk you through how to ACE Dose Calc. Now number two, check out our nursing school boxes that are packed with resources to help you learn things faster, be more confident for your exams and of course pass your exams. And if you want me to hold your hand through nursing school and come alongside you throughout your whole nursing school journey, you know that's exactly what I'm here to do. Be sure to check out the Nursing SOS Membership Community. It is filled with step by step nursing lectures that walk you through everything that you need to know for your nursing school classes. So the links to all of those resources are down below in the description for you to check it out. And if you like this video, be sure to hit that like button. Leave a comment below to let me know you loved it. Share it with a friend and of course subscribe. And click the notification bell so you never miss a video. And click on one of these videos right over here so you can keep rocking nursing school. And as always my friend, go become the nurse that God created only you to be. And I'll catch you next time on the Nursing School Show. Take care. Bye bye.
