title: Patient safety and the need for professional and educational change.
abstract: Questionable quality of health care delivered in the United States has become a front-line issue, taking a strong place alongside more traditional concerns such as increasing costs and access to care. Given that nurses comprise the largest component of the health care workforce, safety and error reduction in health care are central concerns for the profession.
authors.affiliation: Office of Research, Center for Health Policy, Research and Ethics, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Maddox
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wakefield
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bull
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004506:Education, Nursing; D005161:Facility Regulation and Control / Q000458:organization & administration; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000592:standards*; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology