The associations of psychological burnout and time factors on medication errors in rotating shift nurses in Korea: A cross sectional descriptive study

Abstract

Aim: To describe the associations of psychological burnout and time factors on hospital nurses' medication errors. Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Methods: A structured questionnaire pertaining to psychological burnout, time factors and medication error was administered to 200 bedside nurses working at two tertiary university hospitals in Korea. The associations between the psychological burnout, time factor and medication error were analysed with the zero-inflated negative binomial regression for over-dispersed and over-abundant zeros count data. Results: Higher psychological burnout, shorter meal time during duty and longer weekly overtime were associated with an increased likelihood of medication error of nurses working in tertiary university hospitals. For medication safety, nurse managers should provide appropriate administrative support to nurses to cope with psychological burnout of nurses. Work time management should also be considered as human factors to satisfy the needs of nurses, such as securing meal times and maintaining a low level of weekly overtime.