SafetyDog

Archive for the ‘Patient Safety’ Category

Driving

In Human Factors, Interuptions, Multitasking, Patient Safety on September 1, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Today 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 am

Human 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 am

Human 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 »