The effect of nurses' evaluation of working environment on their levels of tendency to medical error

Aim: The study was conducted in order to determine the effect of nurses' evaluation of working environment on their levels of tendency to medical error. Material and Method: The population of the cross-sectional study consists of 450 nurses working at Harran University Hospital. Haphazard sampling method, one of the non-probability sampling methods, was used in the study. 219 nurses who voluntarily participated in the study were included in the study. The study data were collected between September 2020-January 2021 by using "Personal Information Form", "Nursing Work Index-Nursing Working Environment Evaluation Scale", and "Tendency to Medical Error Scale." In the analysis of the data, number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis test, and correlation analysis were used. Results: Nursing Work Index scale total score of the participating nurses was calculated as 2.3±0.57, and the nurses' perceptions regarding evaluation of working environment were found to be at a moderate level. The nurses mean score on Tendency to Medical Error Scale was found to be 227.86±28.66, which showed a low level of nurses' tendency to medical error. There was a positive, weak and statistically significant correlation between the total score of the "Nursing Work Index Scale" and the total score of the Medical Error Tendency Scale (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that nurses' perceptions of evaluating their work environment were at a moderate level, while their tendency to medical errors was low, and as their work environment evaluations increased positively, their tendency to make medical errors decreased. Keywords: Working environment, nurses, tendency to medical error.