A new study finds that powerful barriers exist to inhibit error reporting by nursing home nurses and that a nurse’s personal experience and education level are most likely to influence the reporting of errors.
Nursing errors can put a patient at risk and potentially set the stage for nursing home abuse.
The study, "Nurses' Perceptions of Error Reporting and Disclosure in Nursing Homes," published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of Nursing Care Quality, looked at perceptions of error reporting by 1,180 nursing homes nurses. Potential nursing errors included inappropriate judgment or attentiveness, documentation errors, or misunderstanding a doctor’s order.
According to an article about the study in ScienceDaily, the majority of registered nurse respondents described the process of error disclosure as a difficult one in their workplace and described as inadequate the education and support efforts around this critical patient safety issue. The study’s authors said that registered nurses, and those with prior experience reporting a serious error, were more likely to report one.
The study has significant safety implications for patients and their families, as well as for nursing education and nursing home policy.
Clearly, nursing homes must improve communications and policies around this issue to encourage nurses to disclose errors. They also need to create a positive atmosphere in which to report these errors. Indeed, almost one-third of the study’s respondents were less likely to disclose if they believed they might be sued or reprimanded, according to ScienceDaily.
Wouldn’t we all be better served by an emphasis on transparency and patient safety by the nursing home industry?
If you or a loved one has suffered from Nursing Home abuse, you are not alone. Nursing home abuse attorneys may be able to help punish negligent nursing homes and get the compensation you or your loved one deserves.