Is there a Relationship between Nursing Students' Perceptions of Dishonesty and Attitudes Towards Medical Errors?

Abstract

Background: Understanding nursing students' perceptions of dishonesty and their attitudes towards medical errors is crucial for nurse educators. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the relationship between nursing students' perceptions of dishonesty and their attitudes towards medical errors. Design: This study is descriptive and correlational research. The sample size consisted of 230 nursing students in a Department of Nursing at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University Faculty of Health Sciences in Turkey during the 2022–2023 academic year. The data was collected between May 15–31, 2023. Results: A statistically significant correlation was observed between the total score of the Nursing Student Perceptions of Dishonesty Scale, and the Medical Errors Attitude Scale (p < 0.05). There was a positive and weak correlation between the MEAS scale score and the cheating (r = 0.284, p < 0.05), sabotage (r = 0.275, p < 0.05), perjury (r = 0.308, p < 0.05), non-compliance (r = 0.309, p < 0.05), and stealing (r = 0.359, p < 0.05) sub dimension score, and a positive and very weak correlation between the MEAS score and the sub dimension of not my problem score (r = 0.182, p < 0.05). The perceptions of dishonesty explain 15 % of the attitude towards medical errors (F = 4.563, p < 0.001). Conclusions: In this study, a significant relationship was observed between nursing students' perceptions of dishonesty and their attitudes towards medical errors. Specifically, as the perception of dishonesty increased, there was a positive change in attitudes towards medical errors. These results offer nurse educators valuable insights into the impact of academic dishonesty on the development of medical error attitudes among student nurses throughout their nursing education and beyond.