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The novice nurse and clinical decision‐making: how to avoid errors
Author(s) -
SAINTSING DAVID,
GIBSON LINDA M.,
PENNINGTON ANTHONY W.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2011.01248.x
Subject(s) - nursing management , nursing , nursing shortage , medline , economic shortage , patient safety , psychological intervention , nursing care , nursing outcomes classification , medicine , surgical nursing , nurse education , psychology , primary nursing , health care , linguistics , philosophy , government (linguistics) , political science , economics , law , economic growth
saintsing d., gibson l.m.&pennington a.w. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management 19 , 354–359
The novice nurse and clinical decision‐making: how to avoid errors Aim The purpose of this integrative review is to present the evidence in relation to novice nurses’ errors when faced with clinical decision‐making in the first years of a nursing career. Background Recent studies identify a need for nursing schools to produce 30 000 new graduates each year to keep up with the nursing shortage. Novice nurses may be at greater risk for errors than experienced nurses. As the novice nurse moves into practice, it is imperative to recognize potential mistakes in order to prevent errors. Evaluation Articles selected included information regarding types of errors, causes of errors and potential interventions for the novice nurse. Key issues The primary types of errors committed by the novice nurses include medication errors, patient falls and delay in treatment. The causes of such errors are complex. Implications for nursing management Improved patient outcomes, reduced liability and higher retention/satisfaction are all potential benefits of reducing the errors made by novice nurses. Simply being aware of the type of problems may be an important first step in improving the care by novice nurses.