UC Davis

Preventable human errors continue to threaten patient safety in hospitals. Just culture uses a shared accountability approach to examining and learning from preventable errors. Despite the push for just culture adoption in hospitals, little research is available that specifically explores nurse perspectives of just culture. Hospital nurse managers have a significant impact on patient safety through the application of just culture in their approach to staff nurse error. Semi-structured interviews of five nurse managers from a university hospital were completed for this qualitative study of their perspectives regarding implementation of a just culture approach to error. The nurse managers described just culture and their roles in error response. Common challenges and advantages of implementing just culture were identified by the participants. Some advantages of employing just culture were identified, such improving nurse self-disclosure of error, and process improvements that reduce risk for future error. Participants identified the need for organizational support, including institutional policies and administrative backing, as critical to successful implementation of just culture. Future research should examine nurse manager training in just culture utilization and the effect of just culture on hospital safety culture.