The relationship between the use of patient safety principles and clinical competence of nurses working in the intensive care units

Introduction: Adherence to patient safety principles, despite extensive training, is still one of the major challenges of care. Considering the importance of clinical competence in predicting the quality of nursing care, the present study was conducted to determine the relationship between clinical competence and the application of patient safety principles among nurses working in intensive care units (ICU’s). Materials and Methods: This is descriptive and correlational study that was conducted between April and June ۲۰۲۳ on nurses working in the ICU’s of selected hospitals affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. A total of ۲۰۰ nurses were selected by convenience sampling method. Data collection tools included a demographic information, Clinical Competency Questionnaire for Critical Care Nurses, Ebadi et al. (۲۰۲۴) and the application of patient safety principles questionnaire, Shali et al (۲۰۱۰). The collected data were analyzed by SPSS-۲۲ software using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The mean score of clinical competence of nurses was ۱۷۳.۹۲ ± ۲۳.۵۴ and the mean score of patient safety principles was ۱۰۲.۴۷ ± ۳۳.۲۶, which were at moderate level. Among the patient safety principles, the principle of patient harm received the highest score (۰.۲۶ out of ۳) and conversely, the principle of nursing care delivery received the lowest score (۱.۸۳ out of ۳). Clinical competency of nurses (r=۰.۳۶۲, p<۰.۰۰۱) and all its dimensions were significantly correlated to patient safety principles. Conclusion: With increasing clinical competency and all its dimensions, the use of patient safety principles increases in nurses working in ICU’s. It is suggested that, in addition to all educational and intervention programs to promote patient safety, attention should also be paid to the clinical competence of nurses. Highly qualified individuals should be selected when recruiting nurses for ICU’s, and interventions that promote clinical competence should be used in plannings.

کلیدواژه ها:

Clinical competence ، patient safety ، nurse ، intensive care units. ، صلاحیت بالینی ، ایمنی بیمار ، پرستار ، بخش های مراقبت ویژه .