The relationship between nurses’ personality profiles, perception of conscience, and their tendency to medical error

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the relationship between nurses’ personality profiles, perception of conscience, and their tendency to medical error. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 241 nurses between 05.03.2023 and 10.04.2023 in two private hospitals in Türkiye. There was a negative correlation between neuroticism and tendency to medical error (r = −0.348; p < 0.05) and a positive correlation between agreeableness, extroversion, conscientiousness, and openness and tendency to medical error (r = 0.157; r = 0.248; r = 0.276; r = 0.241; p < 0.05, respectively). A positive correlation (r = 0.172; p < 0.05) was revealed between the authority subscale of the Perception of Conscience Questionnaire and hospital infection subdimension. According to the regression analysis conducted to determine the predictive levels of conscience and personality traits, it was found that conscientiousness, neuroticism, and authority explained 17.4% of the tendency to medical error. Accordingly, it was revealed that the neuroticism personality trait (β = −0.260, p < 0.05) increased the tendency to medical error, whereas the conscientiousness personality trait (β = 0.165, p < 0.05) and the authority subscale (β = 0.164, p < 0.05) decreased the tendency to medical error. In this regard, managers should determine the work and responsibility areas of nurses by making personality and perception of conscience evaluations to reduce the tendency to medical error.