Examining the status of patient safety education in students of health professions

Abstract

Patient safety means avoiding any harm to the patient while providing healthcare. Improving patient safety skills requires integrating them in health professions' education. This study aims to determine the status of patient safety education for the students of nursing, anesthesia, and operating room technology fields of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2023 using the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (HPEPSS). This study is a brief cross-sectional report using a census method for data collection. Descriptive and analytical statistics (independent t-test, Friedman, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis) were used for analysis, performed using SPSS version 22. The overall score of patient safety education in class (mean = 0.74) was significantly higher than the score of clinical setting (mean = 0.71) (P Value = 0.002). The highest score was related to the field of nursing (mean = 0.73), and the lowest score was related to the field of operating room (mean = 0.71). However, there is no significant difference between the total scores of patient safety education among students of different fields (P Value = 0.482). The general level of patient safety education in all three fields is in the "average" range (0.50 < Mean < 0.75). This study recommends emphasizing teamwork, patient-centered care, and creating clinical role models to enhance patient safety education.