The European Patient Safety Foundation (EUPSF) held a 4th conference in Madrid (November 2024) providing participants the opportunity to engage and gather insights from nurses and representatives of nursing organizations on the resources needed to foster innovation in patient safety, encourage collaboration among peers across Europe, and identify how to better support nurses in leading innovative safety improvements within their work environments [1]. To address recent developments in the field of patient safety during the congress, EUPSF organized the workshop entitled “Nurses Advancing Innovation for Enhanced Patient Safety Across Europe’’. The workshop was led by representatives from the European Specialist Nurses Organization (ESNO), a member of EUPSF, emphasized the importance of investing in patient safety initiatives [2].

The science of patient safety is evolving rapidly and the special role of nurses in the field is very often overlooked. Patient safety is a framework of organized activities that create cultures, processes, procedures and behaviors, technologies and environments in healthcare that consistently and sustain lower risks, reduce the occurrence of avoidable harm, make error less likely and reduce its impact when it occurs [3]. Since then, a new quality movement has emerged with the development of numerous interventions aimed at improving quality, with emphasis on accessibility, safety, and effectiveness of care. Further gains in equity and timeliness have proven even more challenging [4]. Nurses play a crucial role in the “near miss” process, promoting patient safety and as the final safety net [5]. The nurses’ role is to preserve patient safety and prevent harm during the provision of care in both short-term and long-term care settings [6]. Nurses coordinate patient care, adhere organizational strategies for identifying harms and risks, planning for care, ensuring continuity and communication across the care team and other healthcare providers [5]. The role of nurses as coordinators is of paramount importance and cannot be overlooked [7]. Nurses act as patient advocates, and this is key to prevent misunderstandings or miscommunications potentially leading to unsafe care [8]. Medication errors are a common cause of patient harm [9]. Nurses are responsible for administering medications and monitoring their effects, ensuring that patients receive the correct medications [9].