Table 2
Percentage reporting occasional or frequent medication error in past year, by selected characteristics, registered nurses providing direct care to hospital patients, Canada, 2005

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  %
Total 19.4
Work organization
Overtime (main job)
Does not usually work overtime† 13.7
Usually works overtime 21.8*
Hours per week (all jobs combined)
Usually works 40 hours or more per week† 18.7
Usually works less than 40 hours per week 20.5
Number of jobs
One† 20.0
More than one 16.3
Type of job
Full-time† 20.2
Part-time 18.0
Shift usually worked
Days 20.2
Other than days† 19.0
Length of shift
Less than 12 hours† 21.7
12 hours 18.1*
Workplace environment
Role Overload Index
First quartile (lowest) 9.0
Second quartile 14.3 ‡
Third quartile 22.1‡
Fourth quartile (highest) 29.0‡
Staffing and Resource Adequacy Subscale
First quartile (most adequate) 9.2
Second quartile 13.5‡
Third quartile 19.8‡
Fourth quartile (least adequate) 31.6‡
Nurse-Physician Working Relations Subscale
First quartile (most favourable) 12.1
Second quartile 18.6‡
Third quartile 20.2‡
Fourth quartile (least favourable) 26.6‡
Work stress
Lower co-worker support 24.0*
Higher co-worker support† 15.3
Lower supervisor support 21.1
Higher supervisor support† 18.7
Lower job security 31.6*
Higher job security† 18.5
Higher physical demands 20.0
Lower physical demands† 16.8
Personal characteristics
Job dissatisfaction
Dissatisfied 27.9*
Not dissatisfied† 18.1
General health
Good, very good or excellent† 19.2
Fair or poor 21.0
Mental health
Good, very good or excellent† 18.9
Fair or poor 26.7
Nursing education
Bachelor's degree or higher† 20.4
Other than bachelor's degree 19.1
Years of experience in nursing
More than 5† 19.8
5 or fewer 17.6
† reference category
* significantly different from estimate for reference category (p < 0.05)
‡ significantly different from estimate for previous quartile (p < 0.05)
Source: Statistics Canada, 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses.