From the Perspective of Nursing Students: A Phenomenological Exploration of Nursing Students’ Patient Safety Competency and Educational Needs across Four Academic Years

Patient safety is a fundamental component of nurse education and a critical determinant of healthcare quality worldwide. Despite global frameworks such as the WHO (2011) guidelines and the QSEN model (Cronenwett et al., 2007), evidence indicates that nursing students often feel underprepared to implement patient safety principles in practice, largely due to fragmented and inconsistently delivered educational approaches. This study explored the perceptions of Pakistani Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students regarding their competence and learning needs in patient safety using a descriptive phenomenological design. Focus groups were conducted with purposively selected nursing students across all four academic years from colleges in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework. Nine central themes emerged: clinical and physical safety practices, infection prevention, teamwork, ethical safety, communication and clinical handover, equipment use and monitoring, medication safety, error reporting culture, and training gaps in safety education. Findings highlight that while nursing students demonstrate partial safety competencies, substantial gaps remain. A cohesive, integrated, and longitudinal patient safety curriculum—emphasizing simulation, ethical practice, and a non-punitive error reporting culture—is essential to prepare future nurses for safe and effective clinical practice.