Nurses’ awareness, actions, and environment leading to error prevention: A qualitative analysis of the error recovery process

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify how nurses who identified errors in advance managed to recover from team mistakes. The participants were 17 nurses who reported their experiences of preventing errors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed qualitatively and inductively.

The analysis resulted in eight categories, including: [Compliance with rules], [Discomfort with discrepancies between expected patterns and reality], [Attention to individuals and situations prone to mistakes], [Corrections framed as confirmation rather than direct challenge], [Corrections by drawing attention to issues through a third party], [Effective communication with individuals from various disciplines], and [Positive experiences in providing feedback or giving advice].

The nurses’ unique sensitivities, their efforts to highlight and correct physician instructions, and the supportive environment that enabled these actions were recognized. The findings indicate that in the process of addressing team errors, it is essential for nurses to recognize when something is amiss and to communicate their concerns without assigning blame. Likewise, the individual receiving the feedback should feel that they are not being blamed.