Last update:
13-Jan-2026

OBJECTIVE To investigate the gap in identifying nurses' perceptions and attitudes toward nursing errors in clinical practice.

METHOD This pilot study was conducted from February to March 2023 enrolling 52 registered nurses. A convenience sampling method was used to approach nurses occupied in a university hospital in Greece. Nurses' attitudes were assessed using Sexton's Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ). Meurier's questionnaire also evaluated perceptions. Demographic characteristics and nurses' attitudes toward nursing errors were recorded and analyzed using non-parametric statistical methods, including Friedman and Mann-Whitney tests. p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.

RESULTS The mean age of the 52 nurses (90.4% female) was 43.1±9.7. A total of 29 out of 52 nurses reported committing nursing errors as nurses during their occupational career. Medication errors (28.8%) were identified as the most frequent nursing errors. Other types of errors included administration of medication (15.4%), drug administration route (3.8%), use of equipment (5.8%), and errors of omission (1.9%). A higher perception level toward "teamwork climate" was observed among nurses who indicated they did not commit nursing errors (80.1 versus 45.8, p=0.032).

CONCLUSIONS Our results revealed medication administration nursing errors as the most common in clinical practice. The findings highlighted the critical need for increased awareness, education, and training to assist nurses in comprehending medication errors and reporting their occurrence accordingly to patient safety.

Key words: Clinical environment, Clinical practice, Medication errors, Nurses' attitudes, Nurses' perceptions, Nursing errors, Patient safety.