Factors influencing patient safety competency in baccalaureate nursing students: A descriptive cross-sectional study

Background

With the rapid changes and increasing complexity of healthcare systems, there is a growing emphasis on providing safer and higher quality care. Early education on patient safety is important for preparing nurses to be competent in quality of nursing care and preventing unnecessary errors. However, most patient safety courses are not incorporated formally and fully into nursing education curricula. To integrate patient safety in the nursing curriculum and develop new strategies, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of nursing students' patient safety competency is vital.

Aim

To examine the level of patient safety competency in nursing students and explore the factors associated with it.

Design

A descriptive cross-sectional design.

Settings

The study was conducted in South Korea.

Participants

A total of 246 third- and fourth-grade nursing students.

Methods

A structured questionnaire survey comprising the Patient Safety Competency Self-Evaluation Tool, Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire, and an instrument evaluating the perceptions of disclosure of patient safety incidents was conducted, using an online survey tool from October 26 to November 26, 2022. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression analyses.

Results

The average patient safety competency score was 3.8 out of 5.0. Nursing students had higher scores on attitudes and lower scores on skills and knowledge. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that participants with high scores on teamwork attitudes, high perceptions of the degree of inclusion of patient safety topics in the nursing curriculum, and familiarity with open disclosure were expected to have higher patient safety competency.

Conclusions

The nursing education system should be modified to establish an integrated curriculum that includes patient safety topics. Utilizing teamwork strategies and teaching the concept of disclosure of patient safety incidents in the undergraduate nursing curriculum can help improve patient safety competency.