The perception of nursing students of Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Berekum on medical errors.

Abstract

Medical error has over the years grown its root deep inside our health system which needs to be uprooted immediately to meet our client / patient satisfaction as well as safety. The main aim of this study is to assess the perception of nursing students of Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Berekum on medical errors. The study has four set objectives; to find out the general knowledge on medical errors from students of Holy Family Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Berekum, to recognize the common forms or types of medical errors, to identify some of the key causes of these medical errors and to identified the clinical and system-based interventions that have been shown to decrease the incidence of medical errors. Twenty-five (25) students were selected from each year group (4 year groups) resulting in a sample population of 100 respondents for the study. Primary data was gathered from the field of study (HFNMTC, Berekum) through a set of questionnaires. Data was obtained manually from the answered questionnaires with the help of Microsoft excel. The findings revealed that, students have enough knowledge on the medical errors. The study recommends that, staffs are made known to the laws and ethics of their work and the same time respect the various wishes and rights of individual patients during each and every procedure. Also, the workload of the staffs should be well considered and provide the number of necessary staffs per each shift for smooth running of the facilities. In addition, provision of adequate materials and equipment for it to be readily available for use is another way to reduce medical errors. Also, internal training must be made available to staffs in less experienced areas to reduce the chances of committing medical errors.