Crisis management policies and programs to prevent nursing-related medical disputes in Taiwanese hospitals

▶ Directors of nursing were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the comprehensiveness and necessity of crisis management policies and activities related to nursing practice-related medical disputes. ▶ The questionnaire assessed five aspects of the policies and practices within their respective institutions: strategic/technical/ structural, assessment, public communication, and psychological/cultural. ▶ The findings revealed significant differences between medical centers and regional hospitals in their perceptions of various aspects within their plans. ▶ Respondents from medical centers noted psychological/cultural aspects of their policies and practices as the most comprehensive and important and public communication to be the least comprehensive and important. ▶ Respondents from regional hospitals found technical/ structural aspects to be the most comprehensive and important while assessment was the least comprehensive and important. ▶ The survey also gathered information on the perceived problems associated with disputes; the three most commonly reported issues were poor nursing attitudes (88%), poor nursing skills (53%), and medication errors (71%).