The National Drug Dosage Calculation Competition 2024: Antibiotic Awareness: Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a threat to global health and development.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared AMR one of humanity’s top 10 global public health threats, demanding immediate attention and action. This urgent call to action underscores the critical need for initiatives like NDDCCN.

The abuse and misuse of antibiotics is the primary cause of AMR. As a result, pathogens change over time and no longer respond to antimicrobial treatment, making it difficult to treat infection.

There is, therefore, an increased risk of spreading infection and deterioration in a person’s clinical status and, without swift intervention, death.

The National Drug Dosage Calculation Competition for Nurses (NDDCCN) has taken a significant step by joining the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its crucial effort to combat antimicrobial resistance.

This partnership underscores NDDCCN’s pivotal role in dealing with this global health challenge.

The NDDCCN 3-day bootcamp, which happens to be the maiden edition, will take place between the 4th and 6th of December 2024 in Lagos, Nigeria, where fifty (50) Nigerian nursing students will be hosted.

These students will be free to express their creativity as they engage the public in a medication safety campaign on “Antibiotics Awareness: Combating Antimicrobial Resistance”.

The Bootcamp is not just about learning and competition. It’s also designed to create a beautiful space and environment for nursing students (and nurses) to network, socialise, and build lasting professional relationships.

They will also meet with research, leadership, and innovation experts, where knowledge will be transferred through learning.

This unique learning opportunity will equip them with valuable insights and skills in the fight against AMR.

The programme will culminate in the grand finale of the National Drug Dosage Calculation Competition, where participants will compete for a grand prize of seven hundred and fifty thousand naira (750,000 NGN)!

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In the year 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global initiative to reduce medication-related errors by 50% in 5 years. 

This is 2024, two years beyond the exact time targeted to have halved the problem, and unfortunately, the incidence of medication errors is still on the high side.

Medication errors have been recognised as an issue of global concern; hence, there is a need to tackle them strategically and aggressively. 

Nurses play a very significant role in the multidisciplinary team and have the potential to be deployed in the fight against medication errors.

This is why we have devised an initiative to join the fight against this global threat of medication errors.

It isn’t just all about medication errors alone.

The vision of NDDCCN transcends beyond just medication errors and encompasses the need for medication safety in hospitals and healthcare institutions.

This year’s theme underscores our unwavering commitment to patient safety.

To follow the bootcamp activities, find us on Twitter.

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This article was first published on the official website of NDDCCN. We’re re-publishing as an official media partner of NDDCCN.

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