Postgraduate Certificate in Patient Safety

The Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) is a part-time course for healthcare professionals, offered by the Department for Continuing Education in collaboration with the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences. It can be completed in one year (though two years is possible), and consists of three modules, each a week long and taught in Oxford. The department provides online support and e-Library access for distance learning on either side of the Oxford weeks.

The PGCert in Patient Safety is designed to provide an understanding of:

• the basic science behind quality improvement methods
• the techniques for implementing, sustaining and measuring systems change
• the techniques for exploring and evaluating the effect of different approaches to improving safety in healthcare.

There is a growing evidence base that quality improvement and human factors-based projects in healthcare have real impact on clinical outcomes for patients. The University of Oxford has a strong research base in patient safety, and this course benefits from the researchers’ intensive collaboration with clinicians.

The course will appeal to doctors, nurses, managers, and other healthcare professionals who have an interest in patient safety.

You will attend two core modules and one option module. The core modules are:

• Quality Improvement Science and Systems Analysis
• Human Factors, Teamwork and Communication

Your option module is chosen from:

• Leadership and Management in Health Care
• Becoming a Clinical Educator
• Healthcare Innovation and Technology

Each module will comprise one week’s intensive teaching in Oxford through the use of lectures, workshops, seminars and practical sessions. Modules are constructed to include independent learning, to develop your knowledge and understanding of the subject, as well as group working and discussion. They include a period of preparatory study, and are followed by a period for assignment work.