Effect of Professionalism Level on Tendency to Make Medical Errors in Nurses

Year 2019, Volume: 27 Issue: 3, 241 - 252, 01.10.2019

Necmettin İşçi Serap Altuntaş

Abstract

DOI: 10.26650/FNJN397503

Aim: The aim of the present study was to
examine the relationship between the occupational professionalism level of
hospital nurses and their tendency to make medical errors. This was a
descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study.

Method: The study was conducted between
June 2013 and January 2015 in four hospitals providing general diagnosis,
treatment, and care services. Four hundred fifty-nine nurses were included in
the study. A questionnaire including a Personal Information Form, Professional
Manner in Occupation Inventory, and Tendency to Medical Error in Nursing Scale
was used to collect data. The study was approved by the hospitals’ ethics
committees and institutions. Data were analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha
analysis, frequency and percentage distributions, descriptive statistics,
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, Dunnett T3 Post Hoc test,
simple linear regression analysis, and t-test.

Results: Nurses’ occupational
professionalism levels were high (M=137.06±15.23), and tendency to medical error
levels were low (M=223.24±25.28). The majority of the nurses considered
themselves quite professional and had not made any medical errors previously.
There was a strong and highly significant negative relationship (p<0.001)
between their occupational professionalism and their tendency to medical error.
There was a difference between the occupational professionalism levels of
nurses who made and did not make an occupational error (p<0.05), as well as
significant differences between their tendency to medical error according to
their perception of themselves as professionals (p<0.05). The occupational
professionalism manner of the nurses was determined to be 30% effective in
their tendency to medical error.

Conclusion: The occupational
professionalism manner of the nurses was found to negatively affect their
tendency to medical error.

Cite this article as: İşçi, N, Altuntaş, S.
(2019). Effect of professionalism level on tendency to make medical errors in
nurses. FNJN Florence Nightingale Journal of Nursing, 27(3), 241-252.

Keywords

Medical errors, nursing, nurse, professionalism

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