Underreporting of medication errors in nursing students: a threat to patient safety

Abstract

Medication errors (MEs) are among the most prevalent health errors threatening patients’ safety and are regarded as an index for determining patients’ well-being in hospitals. The purpose of this study was to explore the ME reporting rate and causes of underreporting among the nursing students in the city of Kerman.
In this cross-sectional study, 90 nursing students in the seventh and eighth semesters of Kerman University of Medical Sciences and Islamic Azad University of Kerman were selected. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of three parts: 1) demographic information, 2) types and causes of medication errors, and 3) causes of underreporting. Data analyses were performed by descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The SPSS 16 statistical software was used in this study and P values less than 0.05 were considered significant. According to the data, 66.7% of the nursing students in this study had made MEs, and the rate of underreporting was calculated at 40%. The most important causes of MEs were illegible data cards and prescriptions, and the major reasons for underreporting were fear of low evaluation scores, reprimand and punishment. There was no statistically significant relationship between demographic characteristics and underreporting of MEs in nursing students (P > 0.05). Findings of this study showed that the rate of MEs is high among nursing students and that medication errors are a major problem in the field of nursing. Patient safety and MEs are two important topics in health care, and recognition of the factors contributing to the latter may decrease their frequency and consequently improve patient safety and the quality of care.