[ relationship of medication errors among nurses with some organizational and demographic characteristics]

ABSTRACT

Medical Errors [Iatrogenesis] constitute one of the major challenges for health systems in every country. The most common kinds of these errors are the medication errors of nurses which have negative impacts on patients, nurses as well as organizations and result in poor quality of healthcare. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of nurses' medication errors with some organizational and demographic characteristics. This is a descriptive-analytic study conducted on 286 nurses working in internal, surgery, orthopedics, and gynecology and obstetrics wards of selected hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences using the stratified multistage sampling method in 2009. The data were collected using questionnaire designed by the researcher and was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis and independent T test. The software program was SPSS14. The average number of medication errors as in three months per nurse was 19.5 cases. Among personal and organizational characteristics, gender [P<0.000] and attending classes instructing medication administration [P<0.03] were significantly related to medication error. [Administering multiple oral drugs simultaneously] was the most frequent medication error in this study. The fact that the frequency of medication error in this study was altogether higher than studies conducted in other countries highlights the necessity for further attention on the part of nursing managers and authorities. Healthcare providers must identify the causative factors and apply strategies to reduce these errors