The School of Nursing at the University of Santiago, Chile, in collaboration with San José Hospital in Independencia, is developing the project “Dressing for Safety: Strengthening Safe Medication Administration at San José Hospital.” The initiative, awarded by the VIME 2025 Fund, promotes safety in medication administration through an innovative strategy to increase the visibility of nursing staff responsible for distribution.
The initiative implements informational vests—developed jointly with hospital staff—to reduce distractions and interruptions while personnel prepare and distribute medications.
According to Carla Contreras Valeria, the academic responsible for the project, "Medication preparation and administration is a critical process that demands great concentration from professionals. When that focus is broken, an adverse event linked to distractions could occur."
The project launched with two training sessions to ensure the effective implementation and sustained use of the informational vests. To reinforce safe administration protocols, staff received infographics and brochures. These sessions were supported by fourth-year students from the Usach School of Nursing, Isidora Escobedo and Paula Ávila, allowing them to gain direct hospital experience while contributing to the development of an evidence-based safety model.
Starting in late 2024, the project is expected to have a significant impact on the hospital. The team projects that using the informational vests could reduce adverse events during the medication distribution process by up to 80%.
Carla Soto, Deputy Director of Care Management at San José Hospital, emphasized the project's significance, citing its foundation in scientific evidence and inter-institutional collaboration. She added, "It aligns with good nursing practice guidelines and has a strong patient focus, allowing us to increase safety and giving us greater confidence in all quality standards."
Paula Escobar, a nurse in the Urology Unit at San José Hospital, emphasized the initiative's profound impact: "This project represents a cultural shift in the way we administer medications. The vest isn't just a piece of clothing; it's a tool that protects both patients and professionals, as it allows us to focus fully on one of the most critical tasks in clinical care: the safe administration of drugs."
"Dressing for Safety" plans to conclude this year with the publication of a paper detailing the experience. "It is a systematization where we collect perceptions from the nursing team, review field notes and observations made during implementation, and then present this at a closing conference," the project manager stated. They emphasized the paper's importance, as "there is no evidence in Chile that this work is being done."
According to Felipe Sandoval Cuevas, project coordinator at Fondo VIME, the initiative is a "virtuous opportunity that integrates engagement with the environment into other fundamental university functions, such as teaching and research." He explained that some activities are carried out within a Nursing program course, and the implementation team is simultaneously creating new knowledge through the systematization of the experience.
"We are most pleased with the work and would like to thank the University of Santiago, Chile, and the team at the School of Nursing," said the Deputy Director of Care Management at San José Hospital. She expressed hope that the success would lead to more initiatives: "We hope that more projects like this will be carried out and that we can continue to advance in this collaborative effort."