Research Article

Critical Care Nurses’ Perception of Medication Administration Errors in Kelantan, Malaysia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Table 3

The perception of the reasons for not reporting MAEs among critical care nurses in tertiary hospitals, Kelantan (n = 424).

ItemsStrongly disagree, n (%)Moderately disagree, n (%)Slightly disagree, n (%)Slightly agree, n (%)Moderately agree, n (%)Strongly agree, n (%)Mean ± SD

(1) Nurses do not agree with the hospital’s definition of a medication error109 (25.7)88 (20.8)106 (25.0)80 (18.9)27 (6.4)14 (3.3)2.69 ± 1.37
(2) Nurses do not recognize an error occurred134 (31.6)87 (20.5)80 (18.9)77 (18.2)33 (7.8)13 (3.1)2.59 ± 1.44
(3) Filling out an incident report for a medication error takes too much time126 (29.7)90 (21.2)87 (20.5)72 (17.0)35 (8.3)14 (3.3)2.63 ± 1.44
(4) Contacting the physician about a medication error takes too much time154 (36.3)104 (24.5)80 (18.9)55 (13.0)20 (4.7)11 (2.6)2.33 ± 1.34
(5) Medication error is not clearly defined111 (26.2)86 (20.3)97 (22.9)83 (19.6)34 (8.0)13 (3.1)2.72 ± 1.40
(6) Nurses may not think the error is important enough to be reported256 (60.4)72 (17.0)54 (12.7)26 (6.1)10 (2.4)6 (1.4)1.77 ± 1.17
(7) Nurses believe that other nurses will think they are incompetent if they make medication errors161 (38.0)100 (23.6)64 (13.4)57 (13.4)29 (6.8)13 (3.1)2.37 ± 1.43
(8) The patient or family might develop a negative attitude toward the nurse or may sue the nurse if a medication error is reported97 (22.9)76 (17.9)81 (19.1)82 (19.3)51 (12.0)37 (8.7)3.06 ± 1.60
(9) The expectation that medications be given exactly as ordered is unrealistic208 (49.1)87 (20.5)69 (16.3)38 (9.0)18 (4.2)4 (0.9)2.02 ± 1.24
(10) Nurses are afraid the physician will reprimand them for the medication error165 (38.9)97 (22.9)77 (18.2)44 (10.4)24 (5.7)17 (4.0)2.33 ± 1.43
(11) Nurses fear adverse consequences from reporting medication errors144 (34.0)79 (18.6)67 (15.8)56 (13.2)51 (12.0)27 (6.4)2.70 ± 1.63
(12) The response by the nursing administration does not match the severity of the error133 (31.4)75 (17.7)71 (16.7)67 (15.8)52 (12.3)26 (6.1)2.78 ± 1.61
(13) Nurses could be blamed if something happens to the patient as a result of the medication error70 (16.5)47 (11.1)62 (14.6)83 (19.6)88 (20.8)74 (17.5)3.69 ± 1.70
(14) No positive feedback is given for passing medications correctly103 (24.3)71 (16.7)103 (24.3)75 (17.7)47 (11.1)25 (5.9)2.92 ± 1.51
(15) Too much emphasis is placed on med errors as a measure of the quality of nursing care provided97 (22.9)76 (17.9)90 (21.2)85 (20.0)49 (11.6)27 (6.4)2.99 ± 1.53
(16) When med errors occur, nursing administration focuses on the individual rather than looking at the systems as a potential cause of the error54 (12.7)50 (11.8)65 (15.3)91 (21.5)86 (20.3)78 (18.4)3.80 ± 1.64

Min (1); max (6).