How to give a medication safely (the rights)
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.
The rights of medication administration turn safe practice into a checklist that can be repeated every time.
Step by step
Right patient
Two identifiers (name and date of birth) checked against the wristband and the medication record. [1]
Right drug, dose, route and time
Compare the label with the order three times: when you take it, when you prepare it, and at the bedside. [2]
Check allergies
Ask and check the record before every new medicine. [2]
Assess before giving
For example pulse and blood pressure before heart medicines, glucose before insulin, breathing before opioids. [2]
Explain
Tell the patient what the medicine is and why. Listen if they say it looks different. [2]
Give and document
Give it, then record it right away: drug, dose, route, time and your name. [2]
Right response
Come back to check the effect and side effects. [2]
Common errors
- Using the room number as an identifier.
- Documenting before giving.
- Ignoring the patient who says "this pill looks different".
Practice it in VMS
In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
VMS cases that train this skill
Sources
Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Pharmacology 2e, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow The Joint Commission, National Patient Safety Goals. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.