Implementation of Realistic Simulation as Patient Safety Improvement Method: Controlled Trial

Currently, the issue of patient safety has been hotly debated both nationally and internationally, because this is a relevant issue for the health professionals' practice and to improve the quality of patient care. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report released in 2000, a significant number of deaths in hospitals every year were related to preventable causes and medical errors. These deaths were equal to mortality numbers due to diseases such as cancer and HIV and car acidentes.

In this scenario, death due to errors in the process of care achieved world relevance and in 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution 55.18, addressing the priorities related to patient safety in the quality of care. In 2004, was created the World Alliance for Patient Safety on the occasion of the 57th World Health Assembly. The World Alliance has defined programs for patient safety that must be adopted by all member countries and therefore, by Brazil.

The general actions proposed by the WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety are oriented in five activities among which, the efforts to strengthen the training in patient safety worldwide. It stimulates the inclusion of a curriculum guide for patient safety in health professional training courses .

Aspects of patient safety in medicine administration involve many health professionals. However, nurses have an important role because they are responsible for administration and thus, occupy the last stage between the medication and the error. For all these reasons, safety in medication administration is a compulsory and transversal theme in the training of nursing professionals.

In this context of search for improvements in health care planning, a new practice concept of teaching and learning has been developed, aiming at training professionals and training the health professionals who have already graduated.