Patient safety: where is nursing education?
Patient safety is receiving unprecedented attention among clinicians, researchers, and managers in health care systems. In particular, the focus is on the magnitude of systems-based errors and the urgency to identify and prevent these errors. In this new era of patient safety, attending to errors, adverse events, and near misses warrants consideration of both active (individual) and latent (system) errors. However, it is the exclusive focus on individual errors, and not system errors, that is of concern regarding nursing education and patient safety. Educators are encouraged to engage in a culture shift whereby student error is considered from an education systems perspective. Educators and schools are challenged to look within and systematically review how program structures and processes may be contributing to student error and undermining patient safety. Under the rubric of patient safety, the authors also encourage educators to address discontinuities between the educational and practice sectors.
Gregory
David M
DM
plied Science and Technology (SIAST), School of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4. david.gregory@uleth.ca
Guse
Lorna W
LW
Dick
Diana Davidson
DD
Russell
Cynthia K
CK
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017145:Models, Educational; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015279:Organizational Culture; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States