Nursing Students' Perceptions of Just Culture in Nursing Programs: A Multisite Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Just culture principles are widely adopted in clinical settings but lack systematic integration into nursing education curricula.
• This gap hinders the development of essential safety competencies among future healthcare professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate prelicensure nursing students' perceptions of just culture within academic nursing programs.
• To identify potential areas for improvement in how just culture is taught and experienced by students.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative, descriptive study design was employed.
• The Just Culture Assessment Tool for Nursing Education (JCAT-NE) was administered to students across multiple nursing programs (N=15).

Main Results:

• A significant majority of respondents (78%) indicated their programs possess a safety reporting system.
• However, only 15.4% reported involvement in a safety event, and 12% had submitted an error report.
• A statistically significant decline in JCAT-NE total scores was observed as students advanced through their programs, suggesting diminishing perceptions of just culture.

Conclusions:

• Findings underscore an urgent need for nursing education to proactively emphasize just culture principles, robust error reporting mechanisms, and quality improvement initiatives.
• Integrating these elements is crucial for cultivating a generation of nurses prepared to uphold high standards of patient safety.