Introduction: Drug order is an important patient care practice and also a life threatening event if not observed by the nurses.

Objective: The current study aimed at comparing the types, causes, and strategies of medication error reduction from the viewpoint of nursing teachers and students.
Materials and Methods: The current cross sectional study was conducted on nursing teachers (n = 20) and students (n = 80) of School of Nursing and Midwifery of Ahvaz, Iran, in 2017. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, which its validity was assessed based on the viewpoint of 10 faculty members. The test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 16 using descriptive and inferential statistics. The significant level was <0.05 for all tests.
Results: The results showed that majority of teachers (75%) observed at least once a medication error made by nursing students and 75.48% of nursing students reported commitment in medication errors more than once. The commonest type of medication error from the viewpoints of teachers (17.3%) was the wrong drug, and high speed infusion from the viewpoint of nursing students (16.49%). The main causes of medication errors from the viewpoint of teachers were inadequate drug information (4.95 ± 0.22), and carelessness and distraction from the viewpoints of nursing students (4.3 ± 0.77). The most drugs involved in such errors are cefazolin, gentamicin, and ranitidine, respectively. The best strategies to reduce medical errors from the viewpoints of teachers (20.89%) was the allocation of more time on the internship to develop drug information and dosages. The students (17.90%) believed that a course of pharmacology for nursing care can be helpful.
Discussion and Conclusion: Since medication errors are very evident from the viewpoint of nursing teachers and students, designing a curriculum to develop drug information and reduce such errors is essential.