Predictors of patient safety competency among emergency nurses in Iran: a cross-sectional correlational study

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to assess predictors of patient safety competency among emergency nurses. Background: The role of emergency nurses is to provide high-quality health care to patients and ensure their safety. The patient safety competency includes the absence of unnecessary or potential harm when providing health care to patients. In providing health care, effective teamwork can affect patient safety and outcomes. Psychological safety is essential to effective teamwork. Psychological safety allows health care workers to accept the interpersonal risks needed to perform effective teamwork and maintain patient safety. Methods: This study was cross-sectional correlational research. Using convenience sampling methods, 254 emergency department nurses from five educational hospitals were enrolled in the study. Patient Safety in Nursing Education Questionnaire was used to measure the patient safety competency, the teamwork questionnaire to examine the teamwork, and Edmondson psychological safety questionnaire was used to measure psychological safety. Descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s r correlation coefficient, and multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis were applied using SPSS 14.0. Results: Participants’ mean patient safety competency score was 2.97 (1-4). Between 18 independent variables evaluated in the multiple regression analysis, seven had a significant effect on the patient safety competency of emergency nurses (R2: 0.39, p