Concept Analysis of Nursing Negligence

Introduction: Negligence is the most common concept in dealing with medical errors. Regarding ambiguity and lack of information on the concept, this study was conducted to analyze the concept of negligence in nursing. Methods: In this study, Walker &Avant approach was used to analyze the concept. After searching the databases, the relevant documents entered in the study. To collect data, Persian databases, including Magiran, Med Lib, SID, and international databases, including PubMed, ISI, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched. The keywords searched included negligence, nursing, malpractice, and concept in both Persian and English. Entry criteria included publishing in Persian or English between 2000 and 2017 and providing information on the concept of negligence. Finally, 44 documents that had the criteria to enter the study were analyzed based on all the analytical steps mentioned in Walker &Avant approach. Results: The results showed that the defining attributes of the concept of negligence in nursing included: 1- Duty of care 2- Breach of the legal duty of care 3- Unintentional conduct 4- Damage 5- Causation. For clarification, simultaneously with these stages, cases such as model, borderline, and contrary cases were offered. Conclusions: In this study, the concept analysis of negligence in nursing was performed, and the results would be to provide a comprehensive and reliable image regarding the use of negligence in nursing. It is recommended that nursing managers and planners and instructors at nursing schools, by providing practical training to inform nurses and nursing students with legal concepts for immunity from legal consequences.