Abstract :
Patient safety is now in the forefront. Attention to patient safety opens up new opportunities to develop new and better systems for care delivery, and new approaches to ensure patient safety. Research to discover the most effective ways for organizing care delivery and to develop optimal models of nursing care provide the much-needed science on which to base decisions. The AONE Education, Research and Development Priorities provide a framework for this research agenda. The work of cohesive multidisciplinary teams of various professionals would be enhanced by research findings. In reality, there are multiple factors that contribute to error. Secking depth in understanding of what should be done to reduce error is a matter of professional accountability.