Enhancing patient safety through undergraduate inter-professional health education.

The Context Patient safety is a timely and important topic in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2007, the provincial government established the Commission of Inquiry on Hormone Receptor Testing – conducted by Justice Cameron – as a result of significant estrogen and progesterone receptor testing errors by the Eastern Health Regional Health Authority between 1997 and 2005. Among 60 recommendations outlined in her final report, Justice Cameron recommended the establishment of clear policies relating to adverse event disclosure, electronic occurrence reporting and senior leads for quality in all regional health authorities. Also in 2007, the provincial government established the Task Force on Adverse Health Events with a mandate to “examine and evaluate how the health system identifies, evaluates, responds, and communicates” adverse events (2009: ix). The task force recommended that all regional health authorities and the provincial Department of Health and Community Services commit to a culture of patient safety. One of the 41 recommendations of the task force was that Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) consider implementing an inter-professional curriculum focused on patient safety and that the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI 2008) Safety Competencies Framework be used for guidance in the curriculum’s development. This article describes the development, implementation and evaluation of an undergraduate inter-professional patient safety education module that resulted from this recommendation. Enhancing a culture of patient safety begins with educating students of health professional programs about concepts such as the importance of working well as an inter-professional team. The ability to work collaboratively can enhance a culture of safety in the workplace and the effective management of adverse health events when they do occur. There is growing evidence that when healthcare professionals communicate effectively and know how to work as a team, the quality of patient care increases (Health Council of Canada 2009). Inter-professional education (IPE) – when two or more professions learn from and about each other (Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education 1997) – is one way to improve communication and collaboration among members of a healthcare team. In response to the provincial government task force’s final report, the dean of medicine at MUN asked the Centre for Collaborative Health Professional Education to develop a proposal for the delivery of IPE concerning patient safety. This centre has a mandate to provide IPE to undergraduate and postgraduate students at MUN and practising healthcare professionals within the healthcare system.