Abstract

Background: Nurses who often detect errors in medical practice are highly esteemed for their capacity to prevent medical accidents. However, information on particular characteristics of such nurses is limited at this time. The aim of this study was to identify characteristics of nurses who are able to detect errors during medical practice, both their own and those of others.
Methods: Anonymous questionnaires were distributed to 2908 nurses in 11 Japanese hospitals whose working career was three years and longer to collect information regarding experiences in detecting errors of one’s own making and errors of others during medical practice, the actual experiences of making errors, social skills, a safety climate in the wards, and general characteristics of the participants. The valid response rate was 64.0 %. Principal component analysis was used to form composite measures using a smaller set of error experiences (clinical errors). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors related to experiences in detecting errors.
Results: Of the participants, 77.4% had experienced detecting their own errors, and 84.1% had experienced detecting errors of others. Significant factors related to the experience of detecting one’s own errors were: having experienced their own errors detected by others, clinical errors, feedback and communication about errors, and a medical accident. Significant factors related to the experience of detecting errors of others were: the experience of having their own errors detected by others, experience of detecting one’s own errors, communication openness, night shift duty, experience as a safety committee member, and planning skills.
Conclusion: Experiencing errors plays a role in detecting future errors of one’s own making and of others. Adequate feedback is preferable for detecting one’s own errors. Open communication in the ward is recommended for detecting errors of others, as one facet of medical safety control.