Abstract

Background: Patient safety is a fundamental component of healthcare quality, and medical error reporting (MER) is essential for error prevention and process improvement. Medical students, as future physicians, play a critical role yet have been understudied. Objective: To describe the knowledge and attitudes toward medical error reporting among fifth-year medical students at Thai Nguyen University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 508 fifth-year medical students in the academic year 2024 - 2025. Results: The majority of participants were female (64.6%). Adequate knowledge of MER was observed in 65.4% of students, while 34.6% demonstrated inadequate knowledge. High levels of correct knowledge were found regarding the purpose of MER (98.8%), error recognition (98.4%), and identification of serious reportable events (≥ 95%). However, knowledge was limited concerning the designated recipients of reports (28.3 - 35.4%), reporting procedures (33.9%), classification of harm levels (37.0%), and lists of serious reportable events (35.4%). 92.5% of students demonstrated a favorable attitude. Conclusion: Fifth-year medical students exhibited relatively good knowledge and highly positive attitudes toward MER, with 65.4% achieving adequate knowledge and 92.5% demonstrating positive attitudes. These findings highlight the need to strengthen education to ensure students not only maintain positive attitudes but also acquire comprehensive skills and competence in medical error reporting.