DICS Behavior Pattern and Medication Errors by Nurses.

Purpose: Human factor is one of the major causes of medication errors. The purpose of this study was to identify nurses' perception and experience of medication errors, examine the relationship of Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness (DISC) behavior patterns and medication errors by nurses. Methods: A descriptive survey design with a convenience sampling was used. Data collection was done using self-report questionnaires answered by 308 nurses from one university hospital and two general hospitals. Results: The most frequent DISC behavioral style of nurses was influence style (41.9%), followed by steadiness style (23.7%), conscientiousness style (20.4%), and dominance style (14.0%). Differences in the perception and experience level of medication errors by nurses' behavioral pattern were not statistically significant. However, nurses with conscientiousness style had the lowest scores for in experience of medication errors and the highest scores for perception of medication errors. Conclusion: The results of this study show that identification of the behavior pattern of nurses and application of this education program can prevent medication errors by nurses in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]