Hallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices: a qualitative study

Abstract Background Maintaining and promoting patient safety is a shared responsibility among all participants in the health care system. Educators are required to balance patients’ rights to receive safe care and create a suitable and safe environment for nursing students to learn. Therefore, early...

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Main Authors: Akram Ghahramanian, Mostafa Ghasempour, Vahid Zamanzadeh, Leila Valizadeh, Laura A. Killam, Majid Purabdollah, Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-04-01
Series:BMC Nursing
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03093-x
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author Akram Ghahramanian
Mostafa Ghasempour
Vahid Zamanzadeh
Leila Valizadeh
Laura A. Killam
Majid Purabdollah
Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi
author_facet Akram Ghahramanian
Mostafa Ghasempour
Vahid Zamanzadeh
Leila Valizadeh
Laura A. Killam
Majid Purabdollah
Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi
author_sort Akram Ghahramanian
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Maintaining and promoting patient safety is a shared responsibility among all participants in the health care system. Educators are required to balance patients’ rights to receive safe care and create a suitable and safe environment for nursing students to learn. Therefore, early identification of students with unsafe clinical practice and intervention may be important measures for improving patient safety. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the main hallmarks of nursing students with unsafe clinical practice. Methods This qualitative study was conducted with 19 faculty members, nursing students, and supervisors of medical centers. Data collection was performed through purposive sampling and semi structured interviews. Data analysis was performed via conventional qualitative content analysis via MAXQDA10 software. Results The results of the study led to the identification of 2 main categories, “Underdeveloped knowledge and cognitive capacity” and “Underdeveloped personal-professional capacity”, and 6 and 4 subcategories, respectively, as the main hallmarks for identifying students with unsafe clinical practice. Conclusion The findings of this qualitative study expand our understanding of the hallmarks of nursing students with unsafe clinical practice. Undergraduate nursing students with unsafe clinical practice may not have acquired sufficient development and progress in terms of knowledge, skills, and personal-professional characteristics or may not be able to demonstrate them in their practices. Nursing schools must ensure that students have the necessary knowledge, skills, competencies, and personal-professional characteristics to participate in clinical training programs. It is recommended that students with unsafe clinical practices be identified early so that patient safety is maintained and that students are supported in order to correct their weaknesses and improve.
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spelling doaj-art-dd9114619fa04fceb6c4654f951c6e7d2025-08-20T03:18:22ZengBMCBMC Nursing1472-69552025-04-0124111410.1186/s12912-025-03093-xHallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices: a qualitative studyAkram Ghahramanian0Mostafa Ghasempour1Vahid Zamanzadeh2Leila Valizadeh3Laura A. Killam4Majid Purabdollah5Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi6Medical Education Research Center, Health Management and Safety Promotion Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical SciencesMedical Education Research Center, Health Management and Safety Promotion Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Pediatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesSchool of Nursing, Cambrian CollegeDepartment of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Khoy University of Medical SciencesSchool of Public Health and Prevention Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash UniversityAbstract Background Maintaining and promoting patient safety is a shared responsibility among all participants in the health care system. Educators are required to balance patients’ rights to receive safe care and create a suitable and safe environment for nursing students to learn. Therefore, early identification of students with unsafe clinical practice and intervention may be important measures for improving patient safety. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the main hallmarks of nursing students with unsafe clinical practice. Methods This qualitative study was conducted with 19 faculty members, nursing students, and supervisors of medical centers. Data collection was performed through purposive sampling and semi structured interviews. Data analysis was performed via conventional qualitative content analysis via MAXQDA10 software. Results The results of the study led to the identification of 2 main categories, “Underdeveloped knowledge and cognitive capacity” and “Underdeveloped personal-professional capacity”, and 6 and 4 subcategories, respectively, as the main hallmarks for identifying students with unsafe clinical practice. Conclusion The findings of this qualitative study expand our understanding of the hallmarks of nursing students with unsafe clinical practice. Undergraduate nursing students with unsafe clinical practice may not have acquired sufficient development and progress in terms of knowledge, skills, and personal-professional characteristics or may not be able to demonstrate them in their practices. Nursing schools must ensure that students have the necessary knowledge, skills, competencies, and personal-professional characteristics to participate in clinical training programs. It is recommended that students with unsafe clinical practices be identified early so that patient safety is maintained and that students are supported in order to correct their weaknesses and improve.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03093-xNursing studentsUnsafe practicePatient safetyQualitative research
spellingShingle Akram Ghahramanian
Mostafa Ghasempour
Vahid Zamanzadeh
Leila Valizadeh
Laura A. Killam
Majid Purabdollah
Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi
Hallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices: a qualitative study
BMC Nursing
Nursing students
Unsafe practice
Patient safety
Qualitative research
title Hallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices: a qualitative study
title_full Hallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices: a qualitative study
title_fullStr Hallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices: a qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed Hallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices: a qualitative study
title_short Hallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices: a qualitative study
title_sort hallmarks of nursing students exhibiting unsafe clinical practices a qualitative study
topic Nursing students
Unsafe practice
Patient safety
Qualitative research
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03093-x
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