Investigation of the Relationship Between Stress, Workload, Medical Error Tendency and Perceived Quality of Care in Surgical Nurses

Abstract

Objective: The study investigated the relationship between stress, workload, tendency to make medical errors, and perceptions of quality of care among surgical nurses.

Methods: The study has a cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational design, involving a sample of 432 nurses working within surgical wards across two university hospitals in Turkey. Data were collected from February 15, 2023, to December 31, 2023. The Nurse Stress Scale (NSS), the Workload Scale (WLS), the Tendency to Medical Error Scale (TMES), and the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 (CBI-24) were used to collect data.

Results: It was determined that the frequency of stress and workload experienced by surgical nurses were moderate, their tendency for medical errors was low, and their perception of quality of care was high. A significant negative correlation was observed between the total score of TMES and the NSS total score (r= -0.084, p=0.048) and the WLS total score (r= -0.091, p=0.046). Additionally, a significant positive correlation was observed between the total score of TMES and the CBI-24 total score (r=0.116, p=0.015).

Conclusions: It was determined that surgical nurses' stress levels, workload perceptions, medical error tendencies, and care quality perceptions were related to each other. Both individual and institutional arrangements to be made in line with these recommendations will make a significant contribution to increasing the quality of care, which is the key point of nursing practices, and to reducing the rates of tendency to medical errors, which is a quality indicator.