Nursing Students' Knowledge of Provider-Committed Murder of Patients: A Before and After Study

Patient safety is a central goal of health care systems, and preventing harm to patients, including patient murder, is a critical safety priority.

To evaluate undergraduate students' knowledge of murder of patients by health care providers, a before and after study was conducted.

A convenience sample of traditional, accelerated, and RN-BSN students enrolled in nursing leadership courses completed a pretest (n=115), viewed an educational intervention involving three recorded powerpoint presentations, completed the post-test (n=104), and evaluated the program.

Correct items increased on post-test. Pretest and post-test knowledge scores differed at a statistically significant level (P=0.009). Post hoc testing of program pairs' scores showed that traditional program scores differed by accelerated and RN-BSN responses.

When a co-worker is charged with murdering patients, health care leaders are horrified yet concerned about institutional reputation, delaying investigations. Education on health care provider murder of patients is needed in undergraduate nursing curriculums.