Openness to experience, work experience and patient safety.

AIMS: The purpose of this study is to examine how the interaction between nurse openness and work experience is related to patient safety.

BACKGROUND: No study has yet examined the interactions between these, and how openness and work experience jointly impact patient safety.

METHODS: This study adopts a cross-sectional design, using self-reported work experience, perceived time pressure and measures of patient safety, and was conducted in a major medical centre. The sample consisted of 421 full-time nurses from all available units in the centre. Proportionate random sampling was used. Patient safety was measured using the self-reported frequency of common adverse events. Openness was self-rated using items identified in the relevant literature.

RESULTS: Nurse openness is positively related to the patient safety construct (B = 0.08, P = 0.03). Moreover, work experience reduces the relation between openness and patient safety (B = -0.12, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between openness, work experience and patient safety suggests a new means of improving patient care in a health system setting.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers may enhance patient safety by assessing nurse openness and assigning highly open nurses to duties that make maximum use of that trait.