Obstacles to root cause analysis and reporting of medication errors made by nurses: a hospital example

Aims: This study aimed to identify the types of medication errors experienced or witnessed by nurses during their professional practice and in the past six months. It also sought to determine the individual and institutional barriers to reporting these errors and to identify the root causes through root cause analysis. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between May and July 2025 at a university hospital in Turkiye. A total of 144 nurses working in inpatient clinics and emergency departments were selected using stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed based on the literature. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: Nearly all nurses reported having experienced or witnessed medication administration errors. The most common error types were missed doses and failure to monitor side effects. High workload (81.9%), fatigue (61.8%), and lack of experience (45.8%) were cited as major causes. Only a small portion formally reported these errors. Beliefs that the error was not serious or had no patient impact, and fear of punishment, were significant barriers to reporting (p