This article contains all you need to know about the National Drug Dosage Calculation Competition for Nurses in Nigeria. We also included frequently asked questions and answers [it will be updated as need arises].
You can ask your questions directly in the comment section, or reach out via our social media handles [Twitter: @nddccnNigeria. IG: @nddccn_nigeria], or send us an email : nddccn360@gmail.com.
About the National Drug Dosage Calculation Competition for Nurses
The NDDCCN initiative was founded by Ogunlabi David, a critical care nurse and author of “The Nurse, The Math, and The Medication.” A Handbook on Drug Dosage Calculations
He currently lives and practices in the United Kingdom.
His passion for excellence and safe care delivery spurred him to start the National Drug Dosage Calculation Competition for Nurses.
This innovative initiative is well-positioned to address medication administration errors, a very critical problem in healthcare delivery.
In the year 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global initiative to reduce medication-related errors by 50% in 5 years. Despite this, we are still behind in achieving a reduction in medication errors by half.
Anybody can be a victim of medication errors.
It could be a minor error that goes unnoticed and doesn’t endanger life, or it could be a serious mistake that results in death, serious injury, or permanent disability.
Nurses, by their position in the multidisciplinary team, play a critical role in the delicate aspect of medication administration.
In fact, it’s rational to say that nurses may be the most responsible healthcare professionals when it comes to medication administration.
“Medication errors cause at least one death every day and injure approximately 1.3 million people annually in the United States of America alone. While low- and middle-income countries are estimated to have similar rates of medication-related adverse events to high-income countries, the impact is about twice as much in terms of the number of years of healthy life lost.“
WHO
That’s a lot of loss and death caused by medication errors alone in a country with a very strong, resilient, and careful healthcare system.
What about the damage done by medication errors in developing countries that do not have the kind of processes and structures a country like the United States has in the fight against medication errors?
Your guess is as good as ours — plenty of bad and nasty things happen…
“The National Drug Dosage Calculation Competition for Nurses (NDDCCN) is an initiative aimed at raising awareness about dosage calculations among nursing students and nurses. The national competition will motivate nurses to see a need to be competent in their calculation skills in order to reduce avoidable errors in dosage calculations during drug administration.”
Ogunlabi David
Developing countries like Nigeria may not yet have “super-structured” healthcare systems that can prevent a lot of healthcare-related deaths and disabilities due to medication administration errors. We can only make use of the resources we have at hand.
And a resource readily available to us all is information.
What NDDCCN is thriving to achieve is making more nurses and healthcare professionals aware of the dangers of medication administration errors.
If more nurses and healthcare professionals are aware, they will be more careful when they handle medication administration. This will in turn significantly reduce mortality and morbidity caused by medication errors. You see, it’s that simple.
And this competition is part of the grand scheme.
When you look at this initiative from a broader perspective, you will discover that it’s not just about medication administration errors. It’s about global best practices, excellence, safety, and professional development.
If you have not registered, kindly do so now!
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can apply this year?
Students from ACCREDITED:
1. Schools of Nursing (Basic and Post basic) in Nigeria.
2. Departments of Nursing (Direct entry & Part-time) in Nigeria.
How much is the registration fee?
– A non-refundable fee of #1,000 is to be paid into the account provided on the Registration Form.
– Please only students from accredited nursing institutions in Nigeria should apply.
What are the requirements for registration?
- picture [personal picture for the media].
- Evidence of studentship (school ID, NUNSA ID, or admission letter).
- Evidence of payment [payment receipt].
Registration started on 26th June, 2023.
For more inquiries, sponsorship, or partnership, reach out to us on: Twitter: @nddccnNigeria, IG: @nddccn_nigeria or by mail : nddccn360@gmail.com.
NDDCCN: Improving Best Practices and Rewarding Diligence.
For sponsorship and partnership inquiries. Send NDDCCN an email, stating how you would like to sponsor or partner.
