Patient Safety Attitudes, Skills, Knowledge and Barriers Related to Reporting Medical Errors by Nursing Students

Introduction: Health care system structure is prone to human error. Medical errors are one of the major challenges that health systems in all countries are grappling with to minimize and reduce the damage caused by them. The aim of this study was to assess the Patient Safety Attitudes, Skills, Knowledge and Barriers Related to Reporting Medical Errors by Nursing Students in Ilam, Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional mixed method was conducted to this study. Sampling was conducted by census of all students entering nursing criteria in Ilam in 2016. A number of 140 students participated in this study. The tool used in this study was created by Schnall et al. that measures knowledge, attitudes and skills related to medical errors reporting. Data were analyzed with t test, regression and correlation coefficients and descriptive statistical methods. Results: The results showed that nursing students had a positive attitude with respect to the reporting of medical errors (p = 0.01). They also have the low knowledge to medical errors and reporting them. There were significant differences in all groups and subgroups of knowledge, attitude, and skills (except creating of safety culture subgroup) between the two group’s students. Moreover, the main reason for not reporting was the lack of knowledge and fear of punishment. Conclusions: The results of this study help those who involve in the health care system to improve patient safety and improve the process of reporting medical errors by nursing students’ participation in the process of reporting error, while improving knowledge and attitudes through nursing education with the effective educational models. As a result, there is a need to educate students on reporting systems.