Registered Nurses Perception of Medication Errors: A Cross Sectional Study in Southeast of Iran

Abstract

Aim : Nurses have an important role in decreasing Medication Errors (MEs). The purpose of this study was to determine registered nurses perception of MEs. Method : In a cross-sectional study conducted in four educational hospitals in southeast of Iran, 238 registered nurses working within these hospitals were studied. Data were collected using Iranian nurses' medication errors questionnaire. Results : Of the 238 nurses, 93.1% were women. Factors such as lack of staff to patients ratio, nurses fatigue from hard work, having difficulty to read physician's writing on the patients file, nurses' heavy workload and work in night shift were the most common causes of MEs development which determined by nurses. Conclusion : MEs may affect negatively on patients' health. Nursing educational systems should have more attention to nurses' perception on MEs and could consider their view in planning and education in order to decline MEs.