Human Factors, Teamwork and Communication

The Human Factors, Teamwork and Communication course introduces the principles of human factors science as applied to systems of care. It teaches about the skills needed to function effectively and safely in teams in a modern clinical environment, and how to apply human factors principles to the design of tasks, the assessment of equipment, and the measurement of human performance.

The Human Factors, Teamwork and Communication course provides the opportunity to learn more about and discuss the following topics:

• Introduction to human factors
• Surgical perspective on patient safety and human factors
• Human factors in healthcare
• Statistics and study design
• Systems approach to quality and safety in healthcare
• Practical skills in patient safety
• Task analysis and synthesis
• Equipment and workspace design
• Behavioural safety
• Teamwork, simulation and non-technical skills
• Safety and quality improvement in healthcare
• Analysing and making recommendations from incidents

The course introduces the topic area with the 5-dimension Systems Engineering In Patient Safety (SEIPS) model, then takes one dimension to focus on each day. Most lectures have an accompanying practical session to practice the skills learned.

Offered by Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences and the Department for Continuing Education, the taught week is led by John Reynard, Consultant Urological Surgeon, Churchill Hospital, Oxford; Honorary Senior Lecturer, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford; Head of Clinical Governance for the Division of Surgery and Oncology, Oxford University Hospitals; and Visiting Consultant Urologist to the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital. It features face-to-face lectures and tutorials in small groups. Teaching is delivered by members of the Quality, Reliability, Safety and Teamwork Unit research group, and invited speakers from other prestigious patient safety units.

Class sizes are kept small to allow full interaction with tutors. Study before and after the course is supported online by a rich virtual learning environment.

Previous guest speakers have included:

• Charles Vincent, Professor of Psychology at the University of Oxford
• Louise Hull, Research Associate, Imperial College London
• Peter McCulloch, Clinical Reader in Surgery, University of Oxford
• Lauren Morgan, Human Factors Research Scientist, University of Oxford
• Stephanie Russ, Research Fellow, Imperial College London
• Nick Sevdalis, Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London
• Patrick Waterson, Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University

Course fees for June 2022 have not yet been confirmed.