Adverse events – a difficult problem in the practice of a surgical nurse

Introduction
To assess the most common adverse events in the practice of surgical nurses as well as the measures to minimise nursing care errors.

Material and methods
The study was conducted from January to March 2019 on a group of 110 nurses/male nurses employed in surgical wards, after obtaining the consent of the hospital management to conduct the survey. We used a diagnostic survey based on a self-constructed questionnaire. In order to check whether there was a significant relationship between individual variables, the non-parametric chi-square test was used. A statistically significant level was set at p < 0.05.

Results
Insufficient nursing personnel and work overload are the main reasons for adverse effects, as confirmed by 77.3% of respondents. The majority of nurses (29.1%) admitted to preparing and administering medications without a doctor’s order. Young nurses were more likely to point to the problem of adverse events in healthcare (p < 0.001). As pointed out by respondents, an increased number of nursing personnel per patient is the most important measure to prevent adverse events.

Conclusions
It was rarely declared by nurses that they were responsible for, or had witnessed, an adverse event, which may indicate that nursing staff are still afraid of the consequences of reporting such incidents at work. An appropriate number of nurses is of key importance for preventing adverse events in healthcare institutions and ensuring patient safety.