Introduction: One of the important risk management domains is working with medical technology as part of nursing care. Materials and methods: The aim of the research was to assess nurses' opinions on working with medical technology and to learn about their knowledge of manipulation with oxygen. To learn about nurses' opinions, a quantitative method and the technique of moderated interviews were used. The sample research group consisted of 772 nurses working in Czech hospitals. The sample group of nurses was representative from the point of view of Czech regions. Results: Most nurses (61.5%) believe that every employee working with medical technology must be educated by a competent firm or a qualified biomedical engineer. Fewer nurses (35.2%) think that education led by any head nurse is enough. 2.9% of nurses did not know the answer to this question. The nurses' knowledge of the main safety risks of the manipulation with oxygen was also studied. Most nurses (70.7%) think that the main risk lies in explosions when higher fatty acids come into contact with oxygen. Fewer nurses (17.4%) see the main risk in increasing the incendiary temperature because pure oxygen causes the increase of incendiary temperature of all inflammable substances. 9.0% of nurses answered: “I do not know”. Conclusion: The way to prevent errors lies in educating staffs, establishing clear safety protocols and strict check-ups to ensure they are followed. Assessing the general knowledge of employees who work with medical technology and their knowledge of the main safety risks of manipulation with oxygen should be one of the systematically measured and assessed risk indicators. Increasing patients' safety in providing nursing care brings positive results.

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice Faculty of Health and Social Sciences Department of Nursing Midwifery and Emergency Care České Budějovice Czech Republic

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