The relationship between sleep quality, clinical decision-making and the tendency to make medical errors in nurses

Sleep quality is an important factor that can affect individuals' work performance and productivity. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between sleep quality in nurses and their clinical decision-making, as well as the tendency to make medical errors.

A descriptive and correlational survey design was used. A total of 366 nurses participated in the study. Data were collected using a Demographic Information Form for Nurses, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Clinical Decision-Making in Nursing Scale (CDMNS), and the Medical Error Tendency Scale in Nursing (METSN).

The average total score of nurses on the PSQI was 7.2 ± 3.1, the average total score on the CDMNS was 97.7 ± 13.1, and the average total score on the METSN was 229.2 ± 18.7. The relationship between the total scores of the CDMNS and the METSN with the components of the PSQI was examined using path analysis. The path coefficients between the PSQI Subjective Sleep Quality and the total score for the CDMNS (β = 0.012; p < 0.001) and the total score for the METSN (β = 0.004; p = 0.045) were found to be statistically significant.

This study found a significant relationship between nurses' sleep quality and their clinical decision-making and tendency to make medical errors. This study shows that the quality of sleep of nurses is a crucial factor influencing their clinical decision-making skills and their tendency to make medical errors.