FUNDAMENTALS IN QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND PATIENT SAFETY - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module enables staff working within health & social care to: Critically explore the drivers for safety in the workplace and patient/ client care and understand the impact of human factors. Students will critically explore and evaluate the relationship between national patient safety policy and its influence on local guidelines and policies. Additionally student will develop their critical judgements of the legal and ethical issues impacting on patient safety and the role of accountability for managing safety and risk in the workplace critically.

Module provider

School of Health Sciences

Module Leader

MAGNUSSON Carin (Health Sci.)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

• 
  Patient Safety policy: from micro to macro
  


• 
  Regulation and quality monitoring
  


• 
  National and local risk management policy
  


• 
  Error reporting
  


• 
  Human factors
  


• 
  Adverse incidents
  


• 
  Professional codes of conduct and accountability
  


• 
  Critical incident analysis
  


• 
  Root cause analysis and Fishbone analysis
  


• 
  Introduction to quality improvement
  

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

None

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge skills and understanding of patient safety

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of one component

A case study (3000 words) critically evaluating a patient safety incident utilising a range of appropriate tools. Students will examine and justify the appropriateness of the analysis tools utilised in this specific incident and apply this knowledge to their own future practice (100%)

 

Formative assessment and feedback

Students will present a one page plan identifying the key issues for the assignment

Students will receive formative feedback via:

• 
  Small group tutorials where they will present a plan for their assignment
  


• 
  Verbal discussion during contact time
  


• 
  Timely response to email or telephone questions
  
  Please note that any evidence of unsafe practice or breach of confidentiality will result in an automatic refer for the module.
  
   
  
  Feedback
  
  Students will receive feedback through a variety of methods, these include:
  
  • Verbal – during seminar sessions, or tutorials
  
  • Written – formative feedback on chart
  
  • Email – where requested by student
  
  • E discussion forum’s via Surreylearn
  

Module aims

• Introduce the key concepts of patient safety and risk. Students will critically analyse and evaluate the impact of human factors theory and national patient safety policy on the reduction of risk and enhancement of safety in the workplace. Students will make critical judgement of the impact of legal and ethical frameworks for safe practice with a focus on professional accountability and codes of conduct.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to enable students to have a deep and systematic understanding of patient safety within an organisational context

To draw upon their own experience to develop their understanding of the current evidence base for patient safety

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

 

• 
  Lectures
  


• 
  workshops
  


• 
  scenarios
  


• 
  on line tutorials
  


• 
  E-learning
  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: HCRM007

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.