The relationship between patient safety competence and attitudes toward medical errors among nursing students: a cross-sectional study

Patient safety competency is a critical component of nursing students’ preparation for future professional practice and their ability to adhere to patient safety principles during clinical training. This study aimed to examine the relationship between nursing students′ patient safety competency and their attitudes toward medical errors. This study was designed as a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The research was conducted in the nursing departments of three universities located in the Aegean and Central Anatolia regions of Türkiye. A total of 345 nursing students participated in the study. Data were collected using the Student Information Form, the Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation Tool (PSCSE), and the Medical Errors Attitude Scale (MEAS). The mean age of the participants was 22.28 ± 1.37 years; 71.3% were female, 53.6% were fourth-year students. The mean total PSCSE score of the nursing students was 3.96 ± 0.45. Among the PSCSE subscales, the lowest mean score (3.65 ± 0.62) was in knowledge. The mean total MEAS score, indicating students’ attitudes toward medical errors, was 3.45 ± 0.27, and 96.4% of the students were found to exhibit a positive attitude toward medical errors. The lowest mean score among MEAS subscales (2.88 ± 0.64) was observed in medical error perception. A moderate, statistically significant positive correlation was found between total PSCSE and MEAS scores ( r = 0.429; 95%CI 0.34–0.51; p < 0.001). In the hierarchical linear regression analysis, Model 1 showed that only the number of clinical practice days (β = 0.418; 95%Cl 0.04–0.16 ) and year of study (β = 0.326; 95%Cl 0.04–0.32 ) significantly predicted attitudes toward medical errors, explaining 4.6% of the variance. In Model 2, the inclusion of patient safety competency increased the explained variance to 21.8%, with patient safety competency (β = 0.434; 95%Cl 0.20–0.32 ) emerging as the strongest predictor of attitudes toward medical errors. Nursing students were found to have satisfactory levels of patient safety competency and to demonstrate a moderately high positive attitude toward medical errors. Higher levels of knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to patient safety were associated with more positive attitudes toward medical errors and their reporting. Educational practices that enhance patient safety competencies and support medical error reporting should be strengthened in nursing education. Not applicable.