Commentary: Mediating role of the perceived benefits of using a medication safety system in the relationship between transformational leadership and the medication-error management climate.

As the primary front-line caregiver for administering medications for hospitalised patients, nurses have a leading role in medication-administration safety. The ever-expanding formulary of medications challenges safe care to assure the right medication is administered in the right dosage at the right time to the right patient for the right reason. Nurses have major leadership roles in creating a culture of safety. Technology applications such as a medication safety system as described in this paper, offer potential strategies for improving medication safety. However, implementation and application are influenced by the transformational leadership of the unit manager; just because technology is available does not assure staff will know how to or be willing to effectively use it. The results of this study, then, highlight two learning needs for nurses: developing competencies for technology and informatics and for transformational leadership. In examining the results of this study, it is clear that developing competencies in technology use and design is a primary learning need for nurses. The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project developed in the United States but spreading globally, identifies medication safety administration as a primary safety and quality concern (Cronenwett et al., 2007). The 162 objective statements defining the six competencies — patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety and informatics, provide an educational framework to prepare nurses for roles in patient safety and quality improvement. Among these competencies, nurses often lag in developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes related to the informatics competency (Cronenwett, Sherwood, & Gelmon, 2009). Both lack of training and poor design that does not fully