Fatigue is a known contributor to adverse events and near misses. Researchers summarized 38 studies on the impact of fatigue on nurses’ medication administration errors (MAE) or near misses. Thirty-one studies reported that long hours, shift work, overtime, and/or poor sleep quality contributed to MAE and near miss, but results and methods of measuring fatigue were inconsistent.

Operational failures – breakdowns in care processes, such as distractions or situational constraints – can impact healthcare delivery. This cross-sectional analysis using population-based survey data from 11,709 nurses examined the relationship between operational failures, patient satisfaction, nurse-reported quality and safety, and nurse job outcomes. Findings indicate that operational failures negatively impact patient satisfaction, quality and safety, and contribute to poor nurse job outcomes, such as burnout.  

A systematic review in early 2022 revealed healthcare worker strikes may negatively impact patient safety but also result in long-term benefits. This review by the same authors explores the impact of strikes on in-hospital and population mortality. None of the 11 studies examining in-hospital mortality reported a significant difference between mortality during the strike compared to the control period. Similarly, there was no difference in population mortality.

The COVID-19 pandemic had wide-ranging impacts on care delivery and patient safety. This study examined the relationship between critical care clinician experiences related to patient safety during the pandemic and COVID-19 caseloads during the pandemic. Findings suggest that as COVID-19 caseloads increased, clinicians were more likely to perceive care as less safe.

Workarounds can pose significant risks to patient safety. This systematic review including 13 studies found that nursing workarounds most often occurred due to challenges in using the electronic health record (EHR) system or during medication administration.

Care left undone (also called missed care, unfinished care, and implicitly rationed care) is associated with lower perception of safety culture and increased adverse events. In this study, more than 2,200 pediatric nurses were asked about care tasks left undone in their most recent shift and a variety of environmental factors (e.g., perception of their work environment, risk of burnout). The most frequently omitted task was comfort/talk with patients, and the least frequently omitted task was pain management.

Despite evidence of associated adverse events, older adults in nursing homes are frequently prescribed potentially inappropriate medications (PIM). This review sought to identify facility and prescriber characteristics associated with PIM prescribing. Anti-psychotic medications were the focus of more than half of included studies, and were associated with low registered nurse staffing, for-profit facility status, and younger men. No study investigated prescriber characteristics.

Needed nursing care that is delayed, partially completed, or not completed at all is known as missed nursing care (MNC). Researchers surveyed critical care registered nurses during two phases of the COVID-19 pandemic about recent missed nursing care, perceived quality of care, and contributing factors. There were no major changes in the types of, or reasons for, MNC compared to the reference survey completed in fall 2019.

Appropriate staffing levels have been shown to impact patient safety and patient outcomes. This review of literature on healthcare worker strikes explores potential negative impacts, such as compromised patient safety due to decreased staffing levels, and justifications, such as long-term benefits.

Maternal morbidity and mortality continues to be a significant patient safety problem. This mixed-methods study identified system-level factors affecting registered nurses during care of people in labor experiencing clinical deterioration. Task overload, missing or inadequate tools and technology, and a crowded physical environment were all identified as performance obstacles. Improving nurse workload and involving nurses in the redesign of tools and technology could provide a meaningful way to reduce maternal morbidity.

Missed or incomplete nursing care can adversely affect care quality and safety. Based on survey responses from 295 frontline nurses in the Philippines, this study explored factors contributing to missed nursing care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest that nurses most frequently missed tasks such as patient surveillance, comforting patients, skin care, ambulation, and oral hygiene. The authors suggest that increasing nurse staffing, adequate use of personal protective equipment, and improved safety culture may reduce instances of missed care.  

Health care work environments can influence safety culture and teamwork. This study used multiyear survey data from registered nurses in 503 hospitals across four states to explore the association between nurse work environment and healthcare quality, patient safety, and patient outcomes. Findings indicate that nurse work environment (such as nurse participation in hospital affairs, nurse manager capability, leadership support, and nurse-physician relationships) is an important factor to improving the experiences of patients and nurses, especially those in hospitals caring for economically disadvantaged patients.

Missed nursing care appears to be associated with higher rates of adverse events. More than 3,600 registered nurses (RNs) were surveyed about missed care during labor and birth in the United States. Three aspects of nursing care were reported missing by respondents: thorough review of prenatal records, missed timely documentation of maternal-fetal assessments, and failure to monitor input and output.

Nurses play a critical role in ensuring patient safety. This study explored the association between the organization of nursing services and patient safety incidents in rehabilitation units. Findings highlight the key role of appropriate nurse staffing in reducing the incidence of events such as falls and medication errors

The surge of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic forced the redeployment of non-intensive care certified staff into intensive care units (ICU). This study surveyed both intensive care (IC)-certified and non-IC-certified healthcare providers who were working in ICUs at the beginning of the pandemic. Qualitative synthesis identified five themes related to supervision; quality and safety of care; collaboration, communication, and climate; recruitment, scheduling and team composition, and; organization and facilities. The authors provide recommendations for future deployments.