Refusal in Reporting Medication Errors from the Viewpoints of Nursing Students in Arak University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Reporting medication errors leads to saving patients' wellbeing and safety and also is counted as a valuable information source for preventing further mistakes in future. The aim of this study was to determine the causes for refusing to report medication errors from the viewpoints of nursing students. Methods: All nursing students of Arak University of Medical Sciences (n=76) were selected to participate in this descriptive cross- sectional study. Using a 17 item questionnaire based on 5-point Lickert scale, nursing students' viewpoints toward refusal in reporting medication errors were investigated. This questionnaire included 3 domains of fear from reporting consequences (10 items), administrative factors (4 items), and reporting procedure (3 items). Data was analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Nursing students estimated that 75% of medication errors were reported by them. Among all causes under investigation," fear from reporting consequences" had the highest score (4.13) among all. From 10 existing items in the domain of "fear from reporting consequences", "fear from evaluation score", and "academic consequences", were main causes for refusing to report medication errors. Among 4 items in the domain of "administrative factors", students had most agreement with the item of "lack of appropriate feedback following reporting medication fault". Conclusion: Some medication errors are not reported by the students and fear from reporting consequences and administrative factors are two main factors for refusing to report medication errors in nursing students. With regard to the fact that reporting medication errors could enhance the patients' immunity, nursing instructors should react positively towards the reports of medication errors by nursing students.