Factors affecting the occurrence of errors and barriers to reporting them in operating room from the perspective of students

One of the most important measures to reduce errors in operating rooms is to identify the causes of errors and their risk factors. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the factors affecting the occurrence of errors and the barriers to reporting them from the perspective of surgical technology and anesthesia students at Alborz University of Medical Sciences, 2022.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study in which all verified undergraduate surgical technology and anesthesia students were enrolled by census method. Data collection tools included demographic data and factors affecting the occurrence of errors, and barriers to error reporting questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software version 26, descriptive, and analytical statistics with a significant level of 0.05.

270 undergraduate surgical technology and anesthesia students took a part in this study. Findings indicate that the mean of the factors affecting the occurrence of errors was 2.62±0.74, and for the factors affecting error reporting it was 2.90±0.92. The highest mean score related to the field of environmental factors (2.82±0.85) among the factors affecting the occurrence of errors; and the scope of the reporting process (3.04±1.01) was one of the barriers to reporting errors.

The results of this study showed providing standard clinical training fields can have a significant impact on reducing the occurrence of errors. On the other hand, reforming the error reporting process and encouraging students to report errors should also be a priority for the management of educational and therapeutic centers.