Nurses' Professional Commitment and Its Effect on Patient Safety

AIMS Professional Commitment Questionnaire (PCQ) and a Patient Safety Scale. Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA test were used in data analysis. RESULT: Nurses' professional commitment was significantly and positively correlated with patient safety. Registered nurses perceived that their level of commitment was medium (M=3.47; SD=1.58 of a 7 point scale), with the highest mean recorded for nurses working in governmental hospitals (M=3.88; SD=1.53). The level of perception of issues related to patient safety was slightly higher than the midpoint (M=5.94; SD=1.38 of a 9 point scale). Nurses' professional commitment was influenced by gender t (158 =-2.33; p =.02), nursing experience in current hospitals (r=- 0.193; p=0.01), current hospital sector (F=4.334, p=0.01), and monthly salary (F=12.327, p=0.000). Patient safety was influenced by nurses' educational level (F=3.306, p=0.03).CONCLUSION: This study provides a preliminary understanding of how professional commitment of registered nurses can enhance patient safety. Managerial support was deemed necessary to enhance nurses' professional commitment, which, in turn, improves healthcare outcomes.