Factors influencing the development of effective error management competencies in undergraduate UK pharmacy students

Patient safety (PS) is a key healthcare goal, yet health professionals struggle to acquire appropriate expertise, including Human Factors/Ergonomics skills, reflected in undergraduate curricula content. More than 50% of adverse events are medicines-related, yet focus on pharmacists as experts in medicines is scant. This pilot investigation used focus groups and interviews to explore undergraduate PS teaching in purposively-selected UK pharmacy schools. Results revealed barriers to PS teaching including risk-averse pharmacist ‘personality’ and Educational Standards negatively influencing students’ error-management behaviours

Creative ‘tips’ to integrate human factors/ergonomics principles and methods with patient safety and quality improvement clinical education

The goal of these 12 tips is to enhance the effectiveness of safety and improvement work in frontline healthcare practice by providing a framework for integration of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) theory and approaches within undergraduate curricula, postgraduate training and healthcare improvement programs. This paper offers both support and challenges to healthcare educators when planning the inclusion of HFE principles within existing curricula. The 12 tips include the systems framework (Tip 1, 3), HFE tools and competency (Tips 2, 7), misunderstandings (Tips 4, 5), and ideas for implementation (Tip 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12). They will support the goal of enhancing the performance of care systems (productivity, safety, efficiency, quality) and the wellbeing of all the people (patient outcomes, staff presenteeism)

The contribution of human factors and ergonomics to the design and delivery of safe future healthcare

Human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) is concerned with the design of work and work systems. There is an increasing appreciation of the value that HF/E can bring to enhancing the quality and safety of care, but the professionalisation of HF/E in healthcare is still in its infancy. In this paper, we set out a vision for HF/E in healthcare based on the work of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF), which is the professional body for HF/E in the UK. We consider the contribution of HF/E in design, in digital transformation, in organisational learning and during COVID-19