PATIENT SAFETY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NURSING STUDENTS

Abstract

The study sought to determine the understanding of nursing students in relation to patient safety based on their practical nursing experience. This was an exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study conducted in 2014, with 103 undergraduate nursing students from a federal university in southern Brazil. The students reported that the main patient safety actions entailed precautions with medications and patient integrity. With regard to practices, they referred to precautions with patients and their individual and collective behaviors. They also mentioned errors committed by other professionals and the quality of empathy toward patients. They demonstrated knowledge of the patient safety culture, but more on an empirical level, with a need to delve deeper on a theoretical and scientific level. They also view safety as something ad hoc, not as procedural or pervasive.

Keywords

• Patient Safety
• Nursing
• Nursing Education
• Culture
• Nursing Students