Studying the Frequency of Medical Errors and Their Causes Among Operating Room Nurses in Birjand Teaching Hospitals in 2024, Iran

Background: The operating room is one of the high-risk areas of the hospital, and nurses are also at a high level of error. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the rate of medical errors (MEs) and their causes among operating room nurses of teaching hospitals in Birjand in 2024. Methods: This descriptive-sectional study was conducted on 72 operating room nurses in Birjand academic hospitals selected by census sampling. Their views were investigated with a questionnaire that included three sections related to demographic information, frequency of MEs, and causes of MEs. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS 26 using descriptive statistics. Results: From the viewpoints of operating room nurses, the use of inappropriate equipment (2.86±1.104), non-observance of sterile techniques (2.56±1.073), and lack of knowledge of the patient’s allergy (2.50±1.075) were some of the most important errors. The most serious factors affecting the occurrence of errors included obligations to perform several tasks simultaneously (3.47±0.822), lack of personnel (3.35±0.808), and fatigue (3.33±0.839). Conclusion: Examining the frequency of errors plays an important role in identifying significant and recurring errors. Moreover, by identifying the causes of errors, steps can be taken to reduce them, especially frequent errors.