Integrating Patient Safety Education in the Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum: A Discussion Paper

BACKGROUND: This paper explores the opportunities and challenges for integrating patient safety education in undergraduate nursing curriculum. METHODS: Four dimensions of undergraduate nursing education are examined: National accreditation of nursing programs, building a competency-based nursing education, a model of nursing education and building faculty capacity in patient safety education and research. RESULTS: Incorporating patient safety in a nursing curriculum can be “institutionalized” by making it a pre-requisite for granting program accreditation. At the operational level, transforming undergraduate nursing education to incorporate inquiry-based learning and moving toward competency-based patient safety education are two key requirements for engaging the students with patient safety science. Building faculty capacity who are experts in both patient safety teaching and research remains a key challenge that needs to be addressed to enable a shift in the patient safety “mindset” for future nursing workforce. CONCLUSION: Efforts to introduce patient safety in nursing education are both necessary and timely, and should accommodate students’ unique needs and cultural context.