A Spotlight on Strategies for Increasing Safety Reporting in Nursing Education

Elizabeth E. Cooper, University of San Francisco

Abstract

Health care policy changes have ripple effects that touch many different areas of the health care arena. Quality and safety are at the forefront of this discussion. In health care institutions, error reporting is expected to monitor and improve patient safety. Procedures are in place for reporting errors. However, multiple barriers lead to low use of reporting methods. Creating a reporting system that leads to transparency could positively affect the health care system. Introducing nurses to error reporting at the beginning of their educational experience could lead to a reduction in barriers to error reporting and promote error reporting. This article discusses strategies to increase error and near-miss reporting in a school of nursing.