Effectiveness of structured teaching program on nurses' knowledge on safe handling of psychotropic drugs

Background: Nurses play a major role in the management of psychiatric patients including the administration and handling of psychotropic drugs. They are in a pivotal position to educate the patient and family members about the medication and they should possess knowledge and competencies of psychotropic drugs to ensure safety. Materials and Methods: The authors have applied quantitative approach, preexperimental design, one group pre-test and post-test design for this study. Fifty-two newly recruited nursing officers were participated in this study. The authors have assessed the nurses' baseline knowledge on psychotropic drugs and the safe handling of such drugs. Followed by that, structured Teaching Program (STP) was designed, developed, and imparted to improve the nurses' knowledge and skills on psychotropic drugs by the authors. A post-STP assessment was conducted to identify the change in nurses' knowledge. Results: Baseline assessment revealed that the nurses were obtained poor scores in knowledge on psychotropics scale and safe handling of psychotropics scale. The median pretest score was seven on knowledge of psychotropics scale and four on the safe handling of the psychotropics scale. Two weeks' posttest scores were 15 and 11, respectively. The results showed significant difference between pre-test and posttest median scores and Wilcoxon signed-rank test (P < 0.001). Sociodemographic variable such as the age of the participants was correlated positively with baseline scores of safe handlings of psychotropic drugs and their post-graduate training in psychiatric nursing was associated with knowledge score. Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that the STP me about knowledge on psychotropic drugs and safe handling of psychotropic drugs was effective in improving the knowledge of newly recruited staff nurses. Continuing nursing education on psychotropic drugs and its safe handling skill among nurses may result in better psychiatric nursing care outcomes.