On July 16 and 17 the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the Infusion Nurses Society, and AJN came together-with 40 representatives from clinical, educational, consumer, policymaking, and industry sectors-to address medication errors. With financial support from manufacturers of drug delivery systems and a grant (AHRQ 1 R13 HS14836-01) from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, they convened in Philadelphia to identify barriers to safe medication administration and develop strategies to overcome them. Of primary concern were identifying and prioritizing topics of research that will further our understanding of how and why errors occur. Look for the full report in the March 2005 issue of AJN. -Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, news director

FIGURE. Mary Foley of the Center for Research and Innovation in Patient Care at the University of California-San Francisco, leading one of the discussions.

FIGURE. Participants worked in small groups to reach consensus on strategies to address medication errors. Here, Sean Clarke, of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, taking notes for his group.

FIGURE. Tim Vanderveen of Alaris Medical Systems and Kathleen Macauley, president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, discussing priorities for achieving safer medication administration.

FIGURE. Mary Alexander, chief executive officer of the Infusion Nurses Society, serving as one of the group facilitators.