Factors associated with medication safety competence of novice nurses: A descriptive cross-sectional study

Background: Ensuring medication safety is a critical responsibility of novice nurses who are defined as those with less than one year of clinical experience in clinical practice. Understanding factors associated with medication safety competence is essential for developing effective training programs. This study identified the factors associated with the medication safety competence of novice nurses and examined the relationships between nursing practice readiness, critical reflection competency, and clinical decision-making ability.Methods: This study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, South Korea. The participants were 263 novice nurses with at least six months of clinical experience, who were recruited through convenience sampling. Data were collected in July 2024 using a questionnaire that included tools measuring medication safety competence, nursing practice readiness, critical reflection competency, and clinical decision-making in nursing. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and hierarchical regression analysis.Results: Medication safety competence was significantly correlated with nursing practice readiness (r = .731, p < .001), critical reflection competency (r = .704, p < .001), and clinical decision-making (r = .444, p < .001). Hierarchical regression analysis identified nursing practice readiness (β = .733, p < .001) and critical reflection competency (β = .316, p < .001) as significant predictors of medication safety competence. The final model explained 58.6% of the variance in medication safety competence.Conclusions: Nursing practice readiness and critical reflection competency are key factors correlated with medication safety competence in novice nurses. Enhancing these competencies through structured pre-employment, on-the-job training, and fostering reflective thinking is crucial for improving medication safety.