[Survey in hospitals. Nursing errors, error culture and error management].

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Management

Context:

• Survey of 724 nurses across 30 German hospitals.
• Focus on error perception and reporting in clinical practice.

Purpose:

• To investigate nurses' experiences and perceptions of errors in healthcare settings.
• To identify primary causes of errors and barriers to reporting.
• To inform strategies for improving patient safety and risk management.

Summary:

• Nurses predominantly reported medication errors, influenced by current discourse.
• Structural and organizational factors identified as primary error causes.
• Low reporting rates attributed to organizational barriers; nurses experience psychological distress post-event.

Impact:

• Highlights the need to shift focus from medication errors to systemic issues.
• Recommends risk management strategies concentrating on organizational deficits and positive error cultures.
• Urges decision-makers to address structural problems like staff shortages to improve nursing practice and patient safety.