title: Comparing the Attitudes and Knowledge Toward Incident Reporting in Junior Physicians and Nurses in a District General Hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The practice of open reporting and instituting a blame-free culture improves a system's ability to deal with risky processes, and the attitude of staff toward safety processes is a critical factor. We compared the attitudes and knowledge of incident reporting between junior physicians and nurses in a district general hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was designed to examine health care workers' attitudes toward reporting and errors. It also assessed knowledge of incident reporting and attitudes toward training in patient safety. Staff nurses (n = 50) and junior physicians (n = 50) were sampled on a voluntary basis and completed the survey online and anonymously.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although similar proportions of each group knew a safety organization (70% of nurses versus 58% of physicians, P = 0.21), significantly more nurses had filled out an incident report (96% of nurses versus 52% of physicians, P < 0.001). The physicians felt that they did not have sufficient training in patient safety (66% of physicians versus 24% of nurses, P < 0.001), and consequently, fewer felt confident with patient safety issues (38% versus 72%, P < 0.001) The majority of all respondents agreed that incident reporting was beneficial (69%, P = 0.001), although a large proportion also felt that they would be blamed for errors (61%, P = 0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that junior physicians are lacking in confidence and disengaged with incident reporting. Nurses generally have a more positive and confident view toward patient safety issues and thus are more involved in reporting practices. Health care institutions should focus on promoting a safety culture in the organization through blame-free incident reporting systems. This should include ensuring that junior physicians obtain a comprehensive education in incident reporting and patient safety.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of General Surgery, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, England; †Department of Vascular Surgery, St Mary's Hospital, London, England; and ‡Bristol Heart Institute, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol, England.
authors.forename: Jessamy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bagenal
authors.forename: Kapil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sahnan
authors.forename: Saran
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shantikumar
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006767:Hospitals, District; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D009726:Nurses; D061214:Patient Safety; D010820:Physicians; D012306:Risk; D012308:Risk Management; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires