Potential causes of medication errors: perceptions of Serbian nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Nurses play a critical role in medication administration.
• Understanding the root causes of medication errors is crucial for improving patient safety.
• Existing literature identifies various factors contributing to medication errors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the most frequent contributing factors to medication errors in the daily practice of nurses in Serbia.
• To compare findings with international studies to understand contextual differences.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted across five healthcare institutions in Serbia.
• A sample of 965 nurses participated in the study.
• A specially designed questionnaire was utilized as the research instrument.

Main Results:

• The most significant factor contributing to medication errors was an insufficient number of nurses.
• Factors commonly cited in international literature were not identified as dominant in this Serbian context.
• Findings suggest that direct implementation of external recommendations may not be effective.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare institutions must proactively educate nurses on safe medication use in both formal and continuous education programs.
• Nurses need to clearly define, recognize, and report medication errors and their causes.
• Systemic changes and a strong patient safety culture are imperative within the Serbian health system.