|
|
Article: Nurses, medical errors, and the culture of blame.
- Article from:
- The Hastings Center Report
- Article date:
- March 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Hastings Center. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
In June 2004, an article in the American Journal of Nursing reported the findings of a three-year study of the organizational culture, attitudes, and assignment of responsibility for patient safety in small, rural hospitals in nine Western states. The study found that most errors fall within the realm of nursing practice and that physicians, administrators, and nurses themselves tend to see patient safety as largely a nursing responsibility. Asked to identify which profession has primary responsibility for ensuring patient safety, 96 percent of the nurses and more than 90 percent of the physicians, administrators, and pharmacists assigned primary responsibility to nurses. ...