A multi‐university assessment of patient safety competence during clinical training among baccalaureate nursing students: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Aims and objectives To assess the perceived patient safety competence during clinical training of Saudi nursing students. Background Ensuring safety in healthcare settings requires improvements in the educational and clinical practice of professionals. Experts stressed that shared patient safety culture must be of primary importance; they also emphasised the resolute need for theoretically driven research approaches for patient safety competence in healthcare organisations and educational institutions. Design Descriptive, cross‐sectional design. Methods This study was conducted in six government universities in Saudi Arabia. A sample of 829 nursing students was surveyed using the health professional education in patient safety survey. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The study adhered to the STROBE guideline for cross‐sectional studies (See Supporting Information Appendix S1). Results The percentage of agreement on the items of the health professional education in patient safety survey ranged from 61.5%–76.5%. The dimension “understanding human and environmental factors” received the highest perceived competence, whereas the dimension “working in teams” received the lowest competence. Significant differences in students’ patient safety competence from different universities were reported. Male students perceived their competence in “working in teams” higher than the female students. Students in their internship year had significantly higher levels of competence in all the six dimensions of the health professional education in patient safety survey than students in the third‐ and fourth‐year levels. Conclusions Saudi nursing students have positive perceptions towards their patient safety competencies. Significant differences were found in the patient safety competence of nursing students between universities, gender and year of study. Relevance to clinical practice The results provide valuable insights and guidance for improving the patient safety competence of nursing students. The findings can be used to guide the creation of policies and interventions that may ensure the continuous development of patient safety competence of nursing students as they navigate the clinical area.

Self-reported confidence in patient safety competencies among Chinese nursing students: a multi-site cross-sectional survey

“…In previous studies, nursing students have reported moderate levels of confidence in most domains of PS competence [3,6,12]. However, the evidence for PS competence varies according to the academic year of study, some publications report that confidence in PS competence declines as students are increasingly exposed to the clinical environment [3,12], while others reported findings that directly opposed to those opinion [13]. More studies are therefore needed to better understand the PS competence of this vulnerable body of nursing students.…”

“…The specific domains of PS competence showing discrepancies between the classroom and clinic are heterogeneous when compared across different countries; this may be due to differences in PS cultures [8]. However, the existing evidence was mostly collected in developed countries [3,8], with more limited datasets from developing countries (e.g., Korea, Saudi Arabia and Jordan) [1,[13][14][15]. To our knowledge, little is known about the development of nursing students' PS knowledge and confidence in China, where PS strategies and education tend to lag behind those in developed countries [16].…”

Examining the Influence of Workplace Incivility on Nurses’ Patient Safety Competence

“…Patient safety is the prevention of any harm, errors, and adverse effects to patients in healthcare settings (Mitchell, 2008). Patient safety and developing initiatives for safety culture in assuring prevention from harm and injuries have become a fundamental interest in quality improvement in the healthcare system (Alquwez et al, 2019). Developing and ensuring patient safety is the main goal of the patient safety movement, because strong sustenance of safety culture is crucial for the delivery of quality patient care.…”

Clinical practitioners' perception of the dimensions of patient safety culture in a government hospital: A one‐sample correlational survey

“…Recently, perceptions of patient safety (PS) culture in the clinical setting have changed, as indicated in the literature. PS is seen as a progressively critical focus in healthcare areas worldwide (Alquwez et al, ; El‐Jardali, Sheikh, Garcia, Jamal, & Abdo, ). Thus, improving PS dynamics, such as infection control, equipment safety, safe clinical environment and safe medicine use, enhances the quality of patient care (Alayed, Loof & Johansson, ).…”