Human factors and ergonomics in patient safety curriculum

The importance of teaching human factors and ergonomics (HFE) and patient safety is registered in two compelling facts: 1) the numbers of physicians who train in VA hospitals and 2) in the need for hospitals to function as highly reliable organizations. In the United States, more than half of the physicians-in-training do at least part of their medical school and residency training at veterans' health care facilities. Health care currently does not measure up to other high-reliability organizations. By providing a HFE-based patient safety curriculum, we hope to improve patient safety at the frontlines. We see the lasting benefit as residency programs that produce physicians who are competent, patient safety problem solvers throughout their careers who will assist health care organizations to become highly reliable. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.