Estonian nurses feel uncertain about teamwork in patient safety

Estonian nurses say they need a more equal workplace culture to speak up about patient safety risks, according to a doctoral study reported by ERR. Nurses feel confident identifying how factors such as fatigue can affect safety, but less assured about teamwork.

Liisi Mägi, a junior researcher in nursing science at the University of Tartu, said incidents in healthcare are usually not caused by individuals acting maliciously. They are more likely to happen when systems fail or problems go unaddressed, she said.

When a patient is harmed, Mägi said, it is important to consider the wider atmosphere in a healthcare institution and relationships among staff. Nurses play an important role in noticing when something is going wrong, but need a safe environment where they feel able to raise concerns.

Patient safety means preventing avoidable harm during treatment, such as giving a patient the wrong medicine, a fall in hospital or an infection. Healthcare cannot be entirely free of harm, Mägi said, but preventable risks should be reduced.

Nurses make up the largest share of healthcare workers and have contact with patients around the clock. Mägi’s doctoral research examined nurses’ self-assessments of patient safety skills, focusing on recognising risks, discussing them and working as a team.

As part of the research, Mägi translated and adapted a Canadian measure of healthcare workers’ patient safety skills for use in Estonia. After statistical testing, the measure was found suitable for use in Estonian hospitals and nursing education.

The study also notes that patient safety skills should receive attention throughout nurses’ careers, not only during their education.