Perceived Patient Safety Competence of Baccalaureate Nursing Students: A Descriptive Comparative Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Quality
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Patient safety is a critical concern in healthcare, necessitating an integrated approach between nursing education and practice.
• Nursing education programs have increasingly focused on preparing graduates for safe practice through curricular reforms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine self-perceived patient safety competencies among baccalaureate nursing students.
• To compare competencies between traditional 4-year and accelerated 12-month nursing programs.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive comparative design was employed.
• A purposive sample of 72 baccalaureate nursing students from traditional and accelerated programs participated.
• The Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey was utilized.

Main Results:

• Students reported higher self-confidence in patient safety competencies gained from clinical settings compared to classroom settings.
• Significant differences were found in self-confidence related to communication and safety risk management between clinical and classroom learning.
• Accelerated students reported lower self-confidence in areas including safety culture, teamwork, risk management, and adverse event disclosure compared to traditional students.

Conclusions:

• Baccalaureate nursing students generally feel confident in their patient safety competencies.
• Accelerated second-degree students demonstrated lower self-confidence in patient safety knowledge from both classroom and clinical settings.
• Nursing curricula should continue to prioritize and emphasize a strong culture of safety.