In a hospital environment there are many different computer programs and machines for employees to master. For medication administration alone a hospital may have a high volume IV pump, a PCA (patient controlled analgesia) pump, a syringe pump and an epidural pump. The ER may have one computer system, the OR another, the inpatient units another… Often all these are not from a single manufacturer and thus can have wildly different user interfaces. Does training alone provide enough support?
The following shows how frustrating this situation can be. How many levels can you pass when you have to learn a new mapping at each level?? Start now 🙂
Archive for the ‘Human Factors’ Category
Some fun with Human Factors
In Human Factors on September 5, 2010 at 2:37 pmPat Tillman and Fratricide
In Human Factors on September 3, 2010 at 9:52 pmPat Tillman was an NFL player who left to join the military with his brother. His death was portrayed in high drama as an example of military heroism only to find out later it was a case of fratricide. Pat like many others was a hero but his death could have been prevented. The military uses human factors theory in the investigations of fratricides which are incidents commonly known as “friendly fire.” If anyone sees the new Tillman movie, The Tillman Story and is interested in this topic as it applies to the military here is an example of some investigations: Read Webb & Hewitt, 2010
While this is a study related to combat, its applicability to any high stakes environment is evident. Also interesting are their findings of teamwork and in particular the leadership of the team being implicated in occurrences of fratricide…. Read the rest of this entry »
Driving
In Human Factors, Interuptions, Multitasking, Patient Safety on September 1, 2010 at 2:15 pmToday I was driving my usual route on a 3 lane parkway near my home. I have a routine of driving in the left lane until I see the traffic light, at which point I begin my transfer into the far right lane for a right turn that I take  in two more lights.
Today a young girl in a red car came from the middle lane and cut in front of me very close. A couple of seconds later she moved back into the middle then into the far right. No sooner did she get into the far right, she moved back into the middle.  After the red light, she surged forward and cut back into the right ahead of the three cars that were stopped at the light. From that point on she was out of my sight…. Read the rest of this entry »
Human Factors Theory Part Two
In Human Factors, Patient Safety on September 1, 2010 at 11:12 amHuman factors research has also highlighted the importance of situational awareness which is: the perception of elements in the environment, an assessment of their meaning, and a projection as to how the situation might progress (Salmon, et al., 2008). This concept involves attention to the patient in terms of what is happening, what is the meaning of the symptoms or events and predicting how might the situation turn out so interventions can be made to intervene or maintain the current state (St. Pierre, et al., 2008). Features in the environment are mapped to mental models which are developed through training and experience (Salmon, et al., 2008) and thus situational awareness is an interaction between the person and the environment…. Read the rest of this entry »
Human Factors Theory Part One
In Human Factors, Patient Safety on August 30, 2010 at 1:35 amHuman Factors Theory
In complex environments such as a hospital setting, humans have the ability to prevent major errors as well as cause them.  Human Factors theory is concerned with the scientific study of interactions among humans and within systems (Norris, 2009). Etchells, et al. (2006) define human factors as “designing systems to meet the needs, limits and capabilities of the people who work in them” (p. 69). The application of human factors science is necessary to enhance patient safety (Etchells, et al., 2006). A failure to design systems without consideration to human factors can result in inefficient and error-prone processes (Norris, 2009)…… Read the rest of this entry »
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