Patient safety competency among nurses and nursing students: A meta-analysis

Identify and compare the levels of self-perceived patient safety competencies among nurses and nursing students and examine their specific competency content.

Identifying the shortcomings and gaps in patient safety competencies of nurses and nursing students is essential for advancing existing educational reforms. However, synthesized evidence regarding their patient safety competencies remains lacking.

Meta-analysis.

We followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and searched five databases from the inception to February 20, 2025. We included studies using the Patient Safety Competency Self-Assessment (PSCSE) or the Health Professions Education Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) instruments, assessed quality with the AHRQ checklist, and analyzed data using STATA 15.

Meta-analysis of 30 cross-sectional studies from 13 countries revealed that nurses' self-reported patient safety competencies pooled mean scores (3.74) were lower than those of nursing students (3.92). Students reported higher scores in classroom settings (4.03) than in clinical settings (3.98). Nurses reported the lowest scores for "teamwork", while students reported the lowest scores for "identifying and responding to adverse events" in classroom settings and for "teamwork" in clinical settings.

Nurses report moderate patient safety competencies, while students perceive a gap between theoretical learning and practical application. Both groups self-perceive shortcomings in teamwork. Continuing education for nurses, enhancing students' practical learning, and interprofessional education to improve collaboration may be effective strategies. However, given the limited scope and quality of the included studies and the reliance on cross-sectional self-report data, these conclusions require further supplementation and validation.