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Table 1 Patient safety course themes and learning goals

From: Residents' intentions and actions after patient safety education

Themes

Learning goals: after the course residents can...

1. Principles of patient safety

- Explain definitions and give examples of incidents.

- Point out main research outcomes concerning the occurrence of adverse events.

- Describe the roles of different parties regarding patient safety.

2. Human factors

- Explain how incidents can occur.

- Describe the role of human factors with regard to patient safety.

- Demonstrate ways to minimize risks related to human factors.

- Explain what health care can learn from other high-risk industries.

3. Effective teamwork

- Describe different aspects of effective teamwork.

- Recognize aspects of teamwork that can be risky and explain why they can be risky.

- Clarify why an open culture is important for improving patient safety.

- Explain ways to cope with the hierarchical structure in a hospital while protecting the safety for patients.

- Express ways to improve information transfer (verbal and written).

- Explain why giving and receiving feedback is important.

- Describe how (other) team factors can be improved.

4. Contribution to safer care

- Clarify risks of the hospitals' processes.

- Recognize unsafe situations or processes in an early stage.

- Demonstrate what should be done when an unsafe situation or process is noticed.

- Describe what and how we can learn from analyzing incidents.

- Point out different methods that can be used to analyze incidents/risky processes

- Demonstrate analysis of own perceived incidents.

- Describe other methods that can improve the safety of patients.

5. Medico-legal aspects of patient safety

- Explain the role of protocols.

- Demonstrate what to do after an incident has occurred.

- Clarify what a patient may be told when an incident has occurred.

- Point out how patients want to be approached after an incident.

- Describe potential consequences of an incident.

- Suggest actions that reduce the risk for claims.