Insight into error hiding: exploration of nursing students' achievement goal orientations

An estimated 50% of medication errors go unreported, and error hiding is costly to hospitals and patients. This study explored one issue that may facilitate error hiding. Descriptive statistics were used to examine nursing students' achievement goal orientations in a high-fidelity simulation course. Results indicated that although this sample of nursing students held high mastery goal orientations, they also held moderate levels of performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations. These goal orientations indicate that this sample is at high risk for error hiding, which places the benefits that are typically gleaned from a strong mastery orientation at risk. Understanding variables, such as goal orientation, that can be addressed in nursing education to reduce error hiding is an area of research that needs to be further explored. This article discusses the study results and evidence-based instructional practices for this sample's achievement goal orientation profile.