Housestaff and medical student attitudes toward medical errors and adverse events.
BACKGROUND
A lack of formal patient safety curricula has contributed to the suboptimal training of medical students and housestaff. Attitudes of physician trainees regarding medical errors and adverse events were surveyed in a pilot study.


METHODS
Five hundred sixty-three physician trainees were surveyed at an urban teaching hospital. Five domains were evaluated using a factor analysis as they relate to patient safety: knowledge, self-efficacy, awareness of safety culture, barriers/facilitators, and awareness of human factors.


RESULTS
One hundred fifty-eight (28%) trainees completed the survey, with 22% (n = 35) describing exposure to at least one adverse medical event. The survey showed good internal validity and reliability. Respondents who reported exposure to adverse events demonstrated a lower awareness of human factor errors (p = .0017) and lower awareness of the hospital's approach to safety (p = .033). Older respondents scored higher on measures of self-efficacy than younger trainees (p = .042).


CONCLUSIONS
The exposure of physician trainees to errors and adverse events can have a negative effect on their attitudes and competencies. Exposure to adverse events and the institution's response may decrease both error reporting and the willingness to adopt safety practices. The results support the need for implementing a sustained patient safety curriculum that promotes learning regarding adverse events.
Vohra
Pamela D
PD
Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA.
Johnson
Julie K
JK
Daugherty
Christopher K
CK
Wen
Ming
M
Barach
Paul
P
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*