Measuring patient safety competence among nursing students in the classroom and in clinical settings

Background: Little is known of the extent to which Patient Safety (PS) education is addressed in the nursing students? curricula in the classroom and in clinical settings in Jordan. Method: An Arabic version of the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) was administered to a convenience sample of 297 nursing students from two governmental universities in Jordan. Results: Nursing students were moderately satisfied about their knowledge and competencies regarding most of the PS dimensions; also, they had more confidence about the knowledge and competencies that they learned in the classroom rather than during the clinical training. Students in their advanced year had lower confidence about their PS knowledge and competencies than students in the earlier years. Conclusion: The study suggests the need to close the gap between theory and practice in the nursing curricula. In addition, it recommends the adoption of a comprehensive framework that integrates PS knowledge and competencies to develop students? knowledge and patient safety skills.