The Patient Safety Action Group of the Harvard medical institutions has developed a modular core curriculum for clinician instructors who are responsible for developing and delivering patient safety education. Each module offers the tools and framework for assembling presentations for a range of clinical and non-clinical audiences. For instructors developing CME courses, many of the components necessary for accreditation are included.

Disclosure

A culture of safety is one that discloses unanticipated outcomes to patients. This culture is based on transparency, honesty and respect. Sharing of bad news is difficult. It is more difficult if the harm may have been caused by something that we may have done. This program presents an overview of the steps that one should take in preparation for and when disclosing unanticipated events. It does not offer a "how to." Role play is one method of working with staff to apply the principles in this course.

Human Factors

Physicians and other health care providers who have a basic understanding of the science of human factors, as it applies to health care, will be better able to participate in the identification, analysis, and solving of patient safety problems. This program can help leaders and individuals within an organization identify and remedy human factors problems in the way of safe patient care.

Culture of Safety

Optimal patient safety is more cultural than programmatic; it stems from the organizational mission and is consistent across all interactions the patient has with a health care entity. In the ideal setting, the patient safety culture is deliberate, well-defined, and universally understood. This program can help leaders and individuals within an organization assess the prevailing patient safety culture and work on directing it toward the ideal.

Medication Management

Medication is one of the cornerstones of health care, and it’s role is growing with every new pharmaceutical discovery. From the moment a newborn receives antibiotic eye drops to the analgesics we receive to ease our final days, medication is a universal experience. The complex process of selecting, ordering, preparing, delivering, and administering medications is repeated so often that the temptation for assumption, inattention, or workarounds is significant.

Patient Safety

A culture of patient safety is strengthened when the individuals share a basic understanding of the problem. This introductory module covers the scope of patient harm, the broad causes, and the preferred institutional culture for improving patient safety.

Teamwork as a Tool for Patient Safety

Effective communication among teams of caregivers can make the difference between an optimal outcome and an adverse event. Defining and applying "effective communication," however, is not always clear.