Students
AHMC801 – Safety and Quality in Hospital Care
2017 – S2 Day
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
John Cartmill
Teaching Assistant
Stephanie Hunt
Mia Holman
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|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
4
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to DAdvSurg or DAdvMed or MASurg or MAMed or MSurg or MMed or MMedPrac or GradDipSpSurg or GradDipSpMed or GradCertClinLship or MLabQAMgt
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
Safety and quality are vitally important and ongoing aspects of hospital care. This unit critically examines decision making and error in everyday life and progresses these concepts by focusing on medical errors, how to respond to error, how to discuss error with patients and colleagues, and how to prevent errors from happening again. Discussions also include examining how medical error is reported in the media and potential political and legal responses to error.
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Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
- Understand the purpose and importance of and demonstrate competence in talking about error with clinicians, managers, patients and families, including open disclosure
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial Attendance | 10% | No | Every workshop |
| Short written assessment | 10% | No | 25/08/2017 |
| Presentation | 25% | No | 03/11/2017 |
| QI Project | 25% | No | 03/11/2017 |
| Workshop Participation | 10% | No | Throughout Semester |
| Weekly Quizzes | 20% | No | Before each workshop |
Tutorial Attendance
Due: Every workshop
Weighting: 10%
Attending tutorials is compulsory and will make up 10% of your overall mark.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
Short written assessment
Due: 25/08/2017
Weighting: 10%
This is to be a short (200 words) description of a personal experience of a work-based error (de-identified) or other safety and quality activity (such as root cause analysis or open disclosure). Feel free to report the facts (de identified), ensure you include your thoughts and feelings on the event as well as its repercussions. The intention is to cement your commitment to the course.
This could form the basis of your end of term presentation or Quality Improvement Project - but doesn't have to.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
Presentation
Due: 03/11/2017
Weighting: 25%
For this assessment, you are to choose (and check with John Cartmill) a safety and quality topic and prepare a 10 minute education session (inclusive of five minutes of questions/discussion). You should prepare a PowerPoint presentation with a maximum of four slides. This presentation is to form the basis of a talk that could be given as a “Grand Rounds” presentation and is limited to five minutes here only because you will be speaking to an already well informed group.
You should choose a topic that fascinates you, but you are required to include research in your presentation as well. These topics can be discussed at the first tutorial.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Understand the purpose and importance of and demonstrate competence in talking about error with clinicians, managers, patients and families, including open disclosure
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
QI Project
Due: 03/11/2017
Weighting: 25%
For this assessment, you are to design a proposal for a quality improvement project for a potential or actual system-based error that you have noticed in your workplace (former or current) or even in your home. This error can be "trivial" (for example, patients' dentures that continuously go missing). You will then write a report regarding the proposal. This 800 word report should include:
- a description of the error and how it was identified
- a description of the investigation into the cause of the error (mini Root Cause Analysis), with reference to relevant literature
- a description of the possible solutions to prevent further error, and
- a quality improvement plan (relating to the chosen solution) detailing what changes were made and how and also how these changes might be evaluated and maintained.
The report should also demonstrate an understanding of the concepts that you have been developing though the course.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
- Understand the purpose and importance of and demonstrate competence in talking about error with clinicians, managers, patients and families, including open disclosure
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
Workshop Participation
Due: Throughout Semester
Weighting: 10%
This unit requires active participation within tutorials - we are interested in hearing everyone's perspectives and experiences. Just attending tutorials is not enough to receive marks for participation.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
- Understand the purpose and importance of and demonstrate competence in talking about error with clinicians, managers, patients and families, including open disclosure
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
Weekly Quizzes
Due: Before each workshop
Weighting: 20%
Each week there will be multiple choice and short answer questions available for you to answer. These must be submitted to Turnitin before the relevant workshop.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
Delivery and Resources
This Unit has an online presence in iLearn. You will need access to the internet and a computer, as well as the ability to participate in online forums and communicate by email.
A list of required and recommended readings is available in iLearn. You can find these through the library website.
Attendance at workshops is essential.
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Graduate Capabilities
PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative
Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Understand the purpose and importance of and demonstrate competence in talking about error with clinicians, managers, patients and families, including open disclosure
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
Assessment tasks
- Tutorial Attendance
- Short written assessment
- Presentation
- QI Project
- Workshop Participation
- Weekly Quizzes
PG - Discipline Knowledge and Skills
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
Assessment tasks
- Tutorial Attendance
- Short written assessment
- Presentation
- QI Project
- Workshop Participation
- Weekly Quizzes
PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
Assessment tasks
- Tutorial Attendance
- Short written assessment
- Presentation
- QI Project
- Workshop Participation
- Weekly Quizzes
PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
Assessment tasks
- Tutorial Attendance
- Short written assessment
- Presentation
- QI Project
- Workshop Participation
- Weekly Quizzes
PG - Effective Communication
Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Understand what constitutes a safety culture and how to foster change
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
- Understand the purpose and importance of and demonstrate competence in talking about error with clinicians, managers, patients and families, including open disclosure
- Demonstrate an understanding of personal ergonomics and determinants of human performance
- Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of the media and the legal system on human error
Assessment tasks
- Tutorial Attendance
- Short written assessment
- Presentation
- QI Project
- Workshop Participation
- Weekly Quizzes
PG - Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical Citizens
Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Understand the scope, nature and causes of the most common safety problems
- Understand human factors in theory and practice
- Understand the nature and elements of well functioning teams in patient care and demonstrate techniques to make a team work
- Demonstrate capacity to lead, coordinate and participate in quality improvement initiatives
- Demonstrate capacity to learn from error, including the RCA Process
- Understand the purpose and importance of and demonstrate competence in talking about error with clinicians, managers, patients and families, including open disclosure
Assessment tasks
- Tutorial Attendance
- Short written assessment
- Presentation
- QI Project
- Workshop Participation
- Weekly Quizzes
Changes from Previous Offering
This unit is now being run in five 3-hour workshops, however, all the content and most of the assessments will remain the same as 2016.
This unit is now run in semester 2, rather than SM 9, and is graded instead of being pass fail.
Learning and Teaching Strategy
This unit employs a blended approach to learning with group discussions, readings with quiz questions, and written assessment tasks. Students are expected to actively participate in group discussion by preparing with the appropriate readings and quizzes. There are three broad themes in this unit of study.
To Err is Human
This module will cover a number of topics concerning human error and safety: how errors occur, human factors, and ways of avoiding or managing error. Broader perspectives of system error and error theory will be introduced, including:
· How we learn
· How we decide
· How we act, react, and interact (work together)
· Understanding error
o How individuals err
o How teams err
o How systems err
To Repent is Divine
· Responding to error
This module addresses responses to error. Protective mechanisms such as denial and projection are acknowledged and developed into an approach for learning from error (incident reporting and root cause analysis).
· Talking about error
In this module, we will focus on how we explain and talk about error. This includes the concepts of debriefing, “difficult conversations” with colleagues, open disclosure, complaints processes, and speaking up about error. We will also discuss how best to provide leadership and support after a serious error.
To Persevere is Diabolical
· Preventing error
This module covers the role of audit and quality improvement leadership, teamwork and culture as well as an overview of several error prevention systems.
· Media, politics and the law
In this module, we will investigate the relationships between medical error, media, politics and the law. This includes consideration of high profile cases both nationally and internationally as well as how these are reported in the media and how they are fed into legislative change.
Changes since First Published
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 02/08/2017 | Unit schedule deleted. |