[Training in patient safety in medical and nursing schools]

Abstract

Objective: To compare the information on patient safety received by students of medicine and nursing.

Method: Cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sample of medical and nursing students of 3 Universities. The Latin Patient Safety Student Information and a test of 5 questions with 5 options were used. A sample of 79 students in each group was enrolled to detect differences of .3 units (bilateral estimation), considering 80% statistical power and 95% confidence interval.

Results: A total of 144 students replied (74 nursing and 70 medicine students). Nursing students achieved higher scores in the communication with patients factor (3.8 vs 3.2, P<.001) and proactive attitude to identify risks for patient safety (4.3 vs 3.8, P<.001). Medical students were more aware of the inevitability of adverse events (2.3 vs 3.1, P<.001). Ten (7%) students had only one fault in the test, and only one (1%) answered all questions correctly.

Conclusions: The training in patient safety should be improved both in nursing and medicine, although nursing students receive more information.

Keywords: Calidad asistencial; Educación en enfermería; Educación médica; Errores clínicos; Estudiantes; Medical education; Medical errors; Nursing education; Patient safety; Quality of health care; Seguridad del paciente; Students.