Patient Safety Content Research Articles

Challenges of integrating patient safety into nursing curricula: An integrative literature review

Introduction The World Health Organization's Multi-Professional Patient Safety (PS) Curriculum (WHO-MPSC) was introduced in 2011, which made PS content easily available for nursing educators to integrate into their own curricula. With the exception of a few developed countries that have their own PS frameworks, many countries have yet to fully integrate PS concepts in pre-licensure healthcare education. The literature reveals numerous challenges when attempting to integrate new patient safety (PS) concepts. Due to the lack of updated synthesis and appraisal of these challenges, a synthesis of findings from the literature was deemed timely and significant. Hence, a literature review was carried out to comprehensively understand the challenges. Methods An integrative review was conducted by searching electronic databases for the years 2011–2022. The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE databases and Google Scholar were searched. The search terms were barriers, challenges, nursing students and PS education. Results Twenty reviews met the inclusion criteria. Through this review, investigators were able to identify 5 major categories of challenges (educators’ characteristics, administration, programme structure, curriculum, theory–practice gap) and 17 individual challenges of PS education implementation. Conclusion The theory-practice gap, curriculum development, and programme structure are areas that should be targeted by curriculum developers in nursing education. Furthermore, it was revealed that there is a need for further research on topics such as resistance to change and individual innovativeness among nurse educators.

Integrating patient safety education into pharmacy curriculum in Nigeria.

Recognition has been given to patient safety and healthcare quality as central components of a functional health system which has resulted in increased advocacy for elaborate patient safety content in education and training programmes for health professionals. The World Health Organisation's patient safety curriculum is an evidence-based framework that provides a valuable resource for the training of healthcare professionals in enhancing patient safety. Other international organisations have also advocated for the need to restructure healthcare professionals' education to include the concept of patient safety. The ideal time to initiate patient safety education is suggested to be during schooling through curricula that inculcate learning from adverse events. This will prepare pharmacy students as future healthcare professionals who will become better prepared for clinical practice leading to improved healthcare quality and safety.

Bad things can happen: are medical students aware of patient centered care and safety?

Quality and safety in healthcare are of the utmost importance, but little is known about whether undergraduate students are aware of patient safety concepts. The objectives of our study were to assess the perception of medical students of challenges in patient safety, and collect their perceptions of error management and prevention. This study used an exploratory mixed method strategy. The first study phase collected data from semi-structured interviews of 28 students. Based on this, an online survey was constructed and sent to about 80,000 medical students in Germany. 1053 replies were received and analyzed for responses based on gender, curriculum type (problem based [PBC] vs. science based curriculum [SBC]) and years of training. Most students understand the importance of patient safety, error avoidance, and the challenges of patient safety interventions. Four themes were identified: (a)the culture of patient safety (what is a good doctor? Doctors' responsibility), (b)the working environment (the inevitability of mistakes, high work load, hierarchy, competition, teamwork), (c)the challenges of risk reduction (error avoidance, management, skills), and (d)materialistic issue (income vs. humanistic values). Female students were more risk aware than male students. Sixteen percent of students expect negative effects (e.g. punishment) when medical errors were disclosed in a team. Regardless, >70% regard teamwork as an effective error avoidance measure. Error disclosure willingness was high (89.7%). Although not formally part of the curriculum, students had a positive perspective concerning patient safety. The opportunities and challenges for incorporating patient safety content into the training curriculum were identified and presented.

Patient Safety Culture in Latin American Hospitals: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Adverse events in hospitals are prevented through risk reduction and reliable processes. Highly reliable hospitals are grounded by a robust patient safety culture with effective communication, leadership, teamwork, error reporting, continuous improvement, and organizational learning. Although hospitals regularly measure their patient safety culture for strengths and weaknesses, there have been no systematic reviews with meta-analyses reported from Latin America. Our systematic review aims to produce evidence about the status of patient safety culture in Latin American hospitals from studies using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC). This systematic review was guided by the JBI guidelines for evidence synthesis. Four databases were systematically searched for studies from 2011 to 2021 originating in Latin America. Studies identified for inclusion were assessed for methodological quality and risk of bias. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including meta-analysis for professional subgroups and meta-regression for subgroup effect, were calculated. In total, 30 studies from five countries-Argentina (1), Brazil (22), Colombia (3), Mexico (3), and Peru (1)-were included in the review, with 10,915 participants, consisting primarily of nursing staff (93%). The HSOPSC dimensions most positive for patient safety culture were "organizational learning: continuous improvement" and "teamwork within units", while the least positive were "nonpunitive response to error" and "staffing". Overall, there was a low positive perception (48%) of patient safety culture as a global measure (95% CI, 44.53-51.60), and a significant difference was observed for physicians who had a higher positive perception than nurses (59.84; 95% CI, 56.02-63.66). Patient safety culture is a relatively unknown or unmeasured concept in most Latin American countries. Health professional programs need to build patient safety content into curriculums with an emphasis on developing skills in communication, leadership, and teamwork. Despite international accreditation penetration in the region, there were surprisingly few studies from countries with accredited hospitals. Patient safety culture needs to be a priority for hospitals in Latin America through health policies requiring annual assessments to identify weaknesses for quality improvement initiatives.

Patient safety education for undergraduate nursing students: a scoping review protocol.

The objective of the review is to examine the literature on patient safety and the teaching and learning strategies required to help students learn about patient safety in undergraduate nursing curricula in prelicensure nursing education programs. Patient safety is a global concern, and health care professionals, including nurses who are on the frontline of health care delivery, should be equipped with the knowledge to enhance patient safety. Undergraduate nursing curricula should include the relevant patient safety content and supply nurse educators with teaching and learning strategies to help students acquire these skills. Based on the Participants, Concept, and Context (PCC) framework, the eligible population will include nursing students who are enrolled in undergraduate nursing programs and nurse educators who teach in undergraduate nursing programs. The concept of interest is patient safety education, namely, the curricular content and teaching and learning strategies used to help nursing students learn the content. The context is prelicensure nursing education programs at college or university level. Eligible studies will include, but not be limited to, quantitative studies, observational, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies, systematic reviews, and opinion papers. Online databases will be searched across MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Web of Science. JBI methodology for scoping reviews will be used to conduct the review. Pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria will be used to select relevant studies. Data will be extracted and synthesized from studies that describe patient safety content and teaching and learning strategies in prelicensure nursing education.

Patient Safety Education in Entry to Practice Pharmacy Programs: A Systematic Review.

The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize, summarize, and evaluate the quality of extant quantitative and qualitative literature related to patient safety in pharmacy education. This systematic review included literature that targeted the content, delivery, and outcomes of patient safety in addition to literature that explored the perspectives of pharmacy students and faculty on how patient safety is integrated within their curricula. A systematic review was conducted. Four electronic databases were searched for articles published between 2000 and 2019: PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ScienceDirect. Selection was based on prespecified criteria and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Two independent reviewers selected articles, extracted data, and assessed articles' qualities using the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus or by consulting a third reviewer. Descriptive synthesis of data was performed. Twenty-five eligible articles were included. The majority of studies originated from United States (n = 15). Educational content involved principles of patient safety, and identification, disclosure, and management of medication errors. There was a lack of standardization on how patient safety is incorporated into the pharmacy curricula. Eleven articles (64%) were interprofessional in nature, delivered as a patient safety course (n = 6), through simulation (n = 3), as seminars (n = 1), or as part of student experiential learning (n = 1). Of the 7 articles discussing delivery of patient safety through courses or modules, 4 (57%) were offered as elective courses. Students' perceptions and attitudes significantly improved after all patient safety interventions, reflecting the importance of addressing patient safety in education to ensure optimum future practice. This systematic review demonstrated how patient safety education was incorporated into pharmacy programs in terms of the content and methods of delivery. It was promising to see patient safety content being delivered interprofessionally and in experiential education. Students and faculty regarded implementing patient safety in education as an essential act to meet future work demands. Longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impact of incorporating patient safety on student behaviors upon graduation and health outcomes are needed.

Student outcomes of an international learning collaborative to develop patient safety and quality competencies in nursing

Background Patient harm is a global crisis fueling negative outcomes for patients around the world. Working together in an international learning collaborative fostered learning with, from and about each other to develop evidence-based strategies for developing quality and safety competencies in nursing. Aims To report student outcomes from an international learning collaborative focused on patient safety using the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competency framework. Methods A global consortium of nursing faculty created an international learning collaborative and designed educational strategies for an online pre-workshop and a 10-day in-person experience for 21 undergraduate and graduate nursing students from six countries. A retrospective pre-test post-test survey measured participants’ confidence levels of patient safety competence using the health professional education in patient safety survey and content analysis of daily reflective writings. Results Statistical analysis revealed student confidence levels improved across all eight areas of safe practice comparing-pre and post-education (significance, alpha of P < 0.05). Two overarching themes, reactions to shared learning experiences and shared areas of learning and development, reflected Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competencies and a new cultural understanding. Conclusions The international learning collaborative demonstrated that cross-border learning opportunities can foster global development of quality and safety outcome goals.

Undergraduate medical students\u2019 attitudes towards medical errors and patient safety: a multi-center cross-sectional study in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

BackgroundIn undergraduate medical education, patient safety concepts and understanding of medical errors are under-represented. This problem is more evident in low-income settings. The aim of this study was to explore undergraduate medical students’ attitudes towards patient safety in the low-income setting of the Gaza Strip.MethodsA cross-sectional, descriptive study included medical students of the two medical schools in the Gaza Strip with 338 medical students completing the Attitudes to Patient Safety Questionnaire-IV (APSQ-IV), which examines patient attitudes in 29 items over 10 domains. Results are represented as means ± standard deviations for each item and domain as well as percentage of positive responses to specific items.ResultsMedical students reported slightly positive patient safety attitudes (4.7 ± 0.5 of 7) with the most positive attitudes in the domains of situational awareness, importance of patient safety in the curriculum, error inevitability and team functioning. While no negative attitudes were reported, neutral attitudes were found in the domains of professional incompetence as a cause of error and error reporting confidence. Study year and gender had no significant association with patient safety attitudes, except for disclosure responsibility, where male students displayed significantly more positive attitudes. The study university was significantly associated with three of the 10 examined domains, all of which involved understanding of medical errors, for which students of University 2 (who had undergone limited patient safety training) held significantly more positive attitudes, compared with students of University 1 (who did not have structured patient safety training).ConclusionMedical students’ patient safety attitudes were very similar among students from both universities, except for understanding of medical error, for which students, who had received structured training in this topic, displayed significantly more positive attitudes. This underlines the power of the ‘hidden curriculum’, where students adjust to prevalent cultures in local hospitals, while they do their clinical training. Furthermore, it highlights the need for a systematic inclusion of patient safety content in local undergraduate curricula.

Analysis of patient safety messages delivered and received during clinical rounds

BackgroundMultiple modalities are available to introduce patient safety training to healthcare professionals. In internal medicine, clinical rounds have always played an important role in education; however, the patient safety content...

The impact of an innovative curriculum to introduce patient safety and quality improvement content

BackgroundThe Fuld Fellows Program provides selected pre-licensure nursing students with a foundation in the science of patient safety, quality improvement and leadership through coursework and a mentored experience working on a quality improvement project. We evaluated this program’s impact on Fellows’ patient safety competence and systems thinking.MethodsCohorts I-VI (n = 116) completed pre-post program evaluation that included measurement of patient safety competence through the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) and systems thinking using the Systems Thinking Scale. Pre- and post-program H-PEPSS and Systems Thinking Scale scores were compared using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. The Fellows were compared to non-Fellows on patient safety competence and systems thinking using t-tests.ResultsPatient safety competence on all H-PEPSS scales improved from baseline to end of program: teamwork (2.6 to 3.1), communication (2.1 to 3.2), managing risk (2.2 to 3.3), human environment (2.8 to 3.7), recognize and respond to risk (2.7 to 3.6), and culture (2.9 to 3.8) (p < 0.05). The Fellows, in comparison to the non-Fellows, reported a significantly higher (p < 0.05) mean change score in five of the six H-PEPSS subscales. Fellows’ mean systems thinking score increased from 66 ± 7 at baseline to 70 ± 6 at program completion (p < 0.05), this mean post completion score was significantly higher than the non-Fellows reported mean STS score of 62 ± 7.ConclusionThe Fuld Fellows Program effectively facilitated patient safety and quality improvement and systems thinking learning among pre-licensure nursing students. This program can serve as a model for integrating quality and safety concepts into health professionals’ curricula.

Regulation and current status of patient safety content in pre-registration nurse education in 27 countries: Findings from the Rationing - Missed nursing care (RANCARE) COST Action project.

Patient safety, as a contemporary health care concern, must remain a priority for nurse educators. This on-line consultation, carried out within the RANCARE COST Action project, determined to establish how patient safety teaching is incorporated into pre-registration education of nurses across 27 countries. How nursing is regulated within countries was examined, along with national guidelines related to nurse education. HEIs were asked to provide details of pre-registration nurse training and how patient safety is taught within programmes. The results confirm that the topic of patient safety is generally not explicitly taught, rather it remains a hidden element within the curriculum, taught across many subjects. Variation in how nursing is regulated exists across the countries also, with the professionalization of nursing remaining a challenge in some states. No guidelines exist at EU level which address how patient safety should be taught to nursing students, and as yet regulatory bodies have not put forward criteria on the subject. As a result individual HEIs determine how patient safety should be taught. The WHO guidelines for teaching patient safety are currently underutilized in nurse education, but could offer a structure and standard which would address the deficits identified in this work.

Perspectives on Patient Safety Education in the Kenyan Preregistration Nursing Curriculum

Patient safety education is recognised as a key ingredient in the development of safety competencies in healthcare professionals. To ensure that patient safety is emphasised in the preregistration education, it is important that it be integrated explicitly in the curriculum. This study aimed at identifying explicit patient safety concepts in the Kenyan nursing curriculum and exploring the perspectives of the nursing faculty members and clinical nurses on the integration of patient safety in the curriculum. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on the relevant curriculum documents from two universities. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted on a purposive sample of 13 staff members of the nursing faculty from the university and 14 clinical nurses from the hospitals where the students undergo clinical instruction. A thematic analysis was carried out on the transcribed interviews from which four themes and subthemes emerged. The curriculum content analysis did not identify any explicit patient safety content but the content was rather implicit within the curriculum as a series of statements and inferences to patient safety. The themes included curriculum issues, student characteristics, a patient safety culture, clinical education issues, and the academic-clinical relationship. To ensure training of a nurse who is competent in patient safety, the concepts must be integrated in the curriculum, the academic and clinical faculties need to be well equipped to teach and assess these concepts, the patient safety culture in clinical placement sites should be conducive to allow for learning about patient safety, and better collaboration between the academic and clinical settings for integration of patient safety in nursing education should be realised.

An Interactive Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Workshop for First-Year Medical Students.

There is a call to incorporate quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) content into undergraduate medical education, though limited literature exists on optimal teaching strategies. We designed a required, interactive workshop for first-year medical students to introduce principles of QI/PS, specifically focusing on student attitudes, knowledge, and skills. We used active learning principles from existing literature and included the application of QI/PS concepts, engaging in PDSA (plan, do, study, act) cycles, conducting root cause analyses, and creating a fishbone diagram. Evaluation of student knowledge included pre/post assessments with locally designed multiple-choice items and a case scenario from the Quality Improvement Knowledge Application Tool. Additional students' self-assessments included perceived knowledge and problem-solving skills. We also evaluated student satisfaction with the workshop. Results on the direct assessment total score (n = 136) indicated significant growth from pretest (65%) to posttest (89%). Indirect assessments (n = 138) targeting perceived ability to define QI/PS principles, identify key components in a QI case scenario, explain the purpose of a fishbone diagram, apply a PDSA cycle, and create a fishbone diagram for a QI case scenario all significantly increased from pre- to postworkshop. The mean overall rating across the 2 years the workshop was administered (ns = 134, 137) was 75% (i.e., good to very good). First-year medical students' knowledge and perceived skills significantly increased from start to end of the workshop. The workshop was placed in an appropriate stage of the curriculum and contained relevant information for our learners.

Patient safety content and delivery in pre-registration nursing curricula: A national cross-sectional survey study

BackgroundPatient safety is a core principle of health professional practice and as such requires significant attention within undergraduate curricula. However, patient safety practice is complex requiring a broad range of skills and behaviours including the application of sound clinical knowledge within a range of health care contexts and cultures. There is very little research that explores how this is taught within Australian nursing curricula. ObjectivesTo examine how Australian nursing curricula address patient safety; identify where and how patient safety learning occurs; and describe who is responsible for facilitating this learning. DesignA cross-sectional study. SettingEighteen universities across seven Australian States and Territories. ParticipantsThe sample consisted of 18 nursing course coordinators or those responsible for the inclusion of patient safety content within a Bachelor of Nursing course at Australian universities. MethodsAn online survey was conducted to evaluate the patient safety content included and teaching methods used in Australian pre-registration nursing curricula. ResultsApproaches to teaching patient safety vary considerably between universities where patient safety tended to be integrated within undergraduate nursing course subjects rather than explicitly taught in separate, stand-alone subjects. Three-quarters of the surveyed staff believed patient safety was currently being adequately covered in their undergraduate nursing curricula. ConclusionAlthough there is consensus in relation to the importance of patient safety across universities, and similarity in views about what knowledge, skills and attitudes should be taught, there were differences in: the amount of time allocated, who was responsible for the teaching and learning, and in which setting the learning occurred and was assessed. There was little indication of the existence of a systematic approach to learning patient safety, with most participants reporting emphasis on learning applied to infection control and medication safety.

Inclusión de la seguridad del paciente en la carrera de Medicina: descripción de la experiencia y percepción de los estudiantes

IntroductionOne of the factors identified to reduce medical errors has been the organisational culture. Education is proposed as a tool for its modification, but this does not have a unique way of being achieved. This paper sought to describe a patient safety elective for medical students and to determine their perceptions on the subject. Materials and methodsA descriptive study was performed in the Center of Medical Education and Clinical Investigations, in Argentina. Every student who participated in the elective was included, and there were no exclusion criteria. An online survey was conducted on all participants, and individual interviews were conducted on a convenience sample. ResultsThe subject was chosen by 54 students out of a total of 274 students between 2011 and 2014. All (100%) of the students completed the course and passed the exam, and stated that they would recommend the elective. Most of the students (n=26) agreed that patient safety content should be mandatory, that its content was novel, and that the subject's structure seemed appropriate, with 21 saying that it was the first time they had been talked about these issues. From the individual interviews, students emphasised the novelty of the subject, and that their perception on patient safety issues had increased. DiscussionThe proposed elective had a good reception among students. The methodology planned for its teaching seemed appropriate. Inter-professional education in patient safety should be implemented to improve student competencies in the subject.

What stage are low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) at with patient safety curriculum implementation and what are the barriers to implementation? A two-stage cross-sectional study

ObjectivesThe improvement of safety in healthcare worldwide depends in part on the knowledge, skills and attitudes of staff providing care. Greater patient safety content in health professional education and training...

CE: Nursing's Evolving Role in Patient Safety.

Our aim in conducting this content analysis of AJN articles was to explore the nurse's historical and contemporary role in promoting patient safety. We chose to focus on AJN because, as the oldest continuously published nursing journal, it provided a unique opportunity for us to view trends in nursing practice over more than 100 years. We reviewed all AJN tables of contents from 1900 through 2015, identifying for inclusion articles with titles that suggested a focus on nursing care, patient safety, or clinical content. We then read and analyzed each of the final 1,086 articles over a period of nine months. Our content analysis indicates that the early articles (from 1900 through 1920) focused on such safety measures as asepsis and the newly understood germ theory. In the 1930s, articles proposed methods for preventing medication errors and encouraged the development of written procedures to standardize care. During World War II, nurse authors identified improved patient survival rates with the use of "shock wards" and recovery rooms. The 1950s saw the emergence of progressive patient care initiatives, through which patients were assigned to various levels of care (intensive, intermediate, self, long-term, or home care) based on patient acuity. The 1960s brought increasingly complex equipment and medication regimens, which created safety problems. Hospital-acquired infections were recognized. Unit-dose medication was instituted in the 1970s. In the next two decades, medication and nursing-procedure safety were emphasized. From 2000 to 2015, articles looked beyond human performance as causes of health care errors to systemic factors, such as poor communication, patient-nurse ratios, provider skill mix, disruptive or inappropriate provider behavior, shift work, and long working hours. Emphasis on patient safety increased as patient care became more complex. As nurses developed a professional identity, they often put a spotlight on safety concerns and solutions. The IOM report, which encouraged research focused on systemic solutions to errors, was instrumental in furthering the very culture of safety that the nursing profession had championed.

Board #206 - Program Innovation Simulations into Pre-clinical Education for Patient Safety and Teamwork Training (Submission #9754)

Objectives Teamwork training and patient safety efforts often focus on culture change.1 Introduction to these topics early in training may contribute to changing an institution’s culture. Of the few examples of undergraduate medical education patient safety courses appear in the literature, curricula involving pre-clinical students were rare2-3 and utilized primarily large lecture and small-group discussion formats.3 In contrast to patient safety for practicing providers, a major challenge in the pre-clinical years is to create the relevance needed to go beyond knowledge and attitudinal changes and achieve higher levels of Kirkpatrick’s framework such as behavioral changes. To achieve this, we describe a comprehensive year-long patient safety course that incorporates adult-learning principles, including “flipped classroom” and team-based learning, as well as technology-enhanced simulations.4 Description The Tulane Interprofessional Patient Safety course (TIPS) uses a combination of teaching methods to cultivate the appropriate degree of relevance to instruct pre-clinical students in patient safety. Students (n=200) work in peer teams composed of 3 medical and 3 nursing students. Pre-session work involves online modules from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and “flipped classroom” background materials developed specially for the course. As described in the attached table, the curriculum uses a combination of small-group discussion, team-based learning, task-oriented simulations, and mannequin simulations to deliver the patient safety content. Measurements include knowledge, attitudinal, and perception assessments (Team Performance Scale, Value of Teams, and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale) as well as 360-degree peer evaluations, direct observation checklists using the Team Performance Observation Tool, and narrative descriptions of behaviors in conjunction with facilitated debriefing. Portions of the course (degree of team training) involved randomization. Students showed a significant increase in the attitudinal scores, perception of the value of teams as well as observed team performance during simulations. Conclusion Assess the degree to which the design objectives were achieved, accurate appraisal of limitations, discussion of next steps and future applications. Indicate how outcomes are relevant to potential benefits for healthcare simulation. Describe the contribution of the project to current knowledge, methods or technologies. This curriculum was intended to move patient safety in the pre-clinical years out of theoretical discussions and into hands-on activities more directly related to healthcare delivery. We were able to demonstrate some improvement in perceptions of teamwork and increased awareness of patient safety and clear observations of good teamwork and patient safety behaviors. However, it is not to what extent these improvements are the result of our interventions as control groups were unavailable in the majority of encounters. The extent to which students utilized teamwork training or patient safety material that were not provided by the curriculum (i.e. contamination) is another key limitation. By using various teaching methodologies and designing a curriculum that focuses on simulation scenarios, it is possible for pre-clinical students to demonstrate patient safety behaviors, in addition to increases in knowledge and attitudes.

The Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars Program

The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project is enhancing the emphasis on quality care and patient safety content in nursing schools. A partnership between QSEN and the Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars program resulted in a unique experiential, interdisciplinary fellowship for both nurses and physicians. This article introduces the Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars program and provides examples of learning activities and fellows' accomplishments. Interprofessional quality and safety education at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels is germane to improving the quality of health care.

How baccalaureate nursing students value an interprofessional patient safety course for professional development.

Nursing students need foundation knowledge and skills to keep patients safe in continuously changing health care environments. A gap exists in our knowledge of the value students place on interprofessional patient safety education. The purpose of this exploratory, mixed methods study was to understand nursing students' attitudes about the value of an interprofessional patient safety course to their professional development and its role in health professions curricula. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from formative course performance measures, course evaluations, and interviews with six nursing students. The qualitative themes of awareness, ownership, and action emerged and triangulated with the descriptive quantitative results from student performance and course evaluations. Students placed high value on the course and essential nature of interprofessional patient safety content. These findings provide a first step toward integration of interprofessional patient safety education into nursing curricula and in meeting the Institute of Medicine's goals for the nursing profession.