Series 7: Patient safety - Introduction to Human Factors and Systems Thinking


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In this series, discover how adopting a Human Factors and Systems Thinking approach in clinical practice can optimise team well-being and patient safety. This series also covers the non-technical skills needed for safer care and details the tools you can use to develop these skills. Learn how to bring the whole team on board to improve the quality and safety of the care we provide, and the benefits this can have for your teams.

The series is arranged into episodes, each one including information and multimedia to support your learning.


The QI Boxset will help you learn about Quality Improvement with small bite-sized episodes. Just like streaming services, you can work your way through each episode or scroll to pick and choose what you want to watch, read or listen to.


Course image Episode 1: Introduction to Human Factors
Series 7: Patient safety - Introduction to Human Factors and Systems Thinking
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Find out what Human Factors are, and how understanding how humans work within a system can optimise team well-being and patient safety. This episode will also show you the non-technical skills needed for safer care and the tools available to help you develop these skills in clinical practice to prevent errors from occurring.

CPD: 1 hour 25 minutes

Authors: Martin Bromiley, Helen Silver-MacMahon, Angela Rayner

Course image Episode 2: Systems Thinking in practice
Series 7: Patient safety - Introduction to Human Factors and Systems Thinking
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Find out what Systems Thinking is and how designing and assessing systems and processes with input from the whole team can help us to improve quality, patient safety and the well-being of our teams. This episode also introduces the concept of immersive simulation training to improve patient safety in high-stakes situations.

CPD: 3 hours 25 minutes

Authors: Pam Mosedale, Angela Rayner, Richard Killen, Suzette Woodward, Laura Playforth, Kristina Pollock, Patrick Pollock

Course image Episode 3: Why understanding work matters
Series 7: Patient safety - Introduction to Human Factors and Systems Thinking
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Discover why it's important to consider how work is actually done, versus how we imagine it should be done and how understanding this difference can enable us to design systems and processes for safer care. This episode also discusses how to bring the whole team on board and use risk management to improve the quality of services and the well-being of our patients and teams.

CPD: 1 hour 35 minutes

Authors: Angela Rayner, Shobhan Thakore, Mark Turner

Course image Episode 4: Case examples and further resources
Series 7: Patient safety - Introduction to Human Factors and Systems Thinking
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Access case examples relating to Human Factors and Systems Thinking. These examples show how real practices have made improvements, kindly shared so that we can learn from their experiences. This episode also includes links to further RCVS Knowledge tools and resources to help you adopt Human Factors and Systems Thinking approaches to improving patient safety.

CPD: 1 hour 25 minutes

Authors: Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists, Charlotte Thomas, Angela Rayner, Gillivervet, Filham Park Veterinary Clinic, Mark Morton