Patient Safety: A Guideline to Nursing Practicum

Abstract

Health care providers and health care professionals value the importance of patient safety at all levels, and make efforts to develop quality of health services and trustworthiness. Therefore, in nursing education, where nursing students have to practice in real situation, concept and principles of patient safety should be integrated in nursing education to cultivate attitudes and to strengthen safety practices. The first priority is to be aware of the safety of patients. The nursing learning management includes: 1) integration of concept and principles of patient safety into the curriculum; 2) effective preparedness of nursing students, including development of nursing competency, and orientation to nursing practicum; 3) management of learning in patient safety, including creating a supportive learning environment, solving problems regarding individual factors leading to malpractices, encouraging nursing students to be ready, mindful, and concerned about the safety of every patient, detection and  reduction of risks for mistakes, promoting the use of empirical evidences in nursing practice, incorporating the safety concepts into every activity, using the concept of patient involvement in the nursing care process, using the chain of defense concept before the crisis, as well as learning about risk management system and safety; 4) arranging time to share and learn about patient safety; 5) making nursing students to dare to disclose some mistakes; and 6) as a teacher, being a role model regarding patient safety practices as well as ethical concern.