Patient Safety in Graduate and Continuing Medical Education

Abstract

Five years after the Institute of Medicine increased the public’s awareness of medical errors through the report To Err is Human, The Joint Commission published Health Care at the Crossroads, a comprehensive discussion of specific recommendations to improve patient safety. It included a recommendation to develop a medical education curriculum based on patient safety events and liability claims data. Subsequently, there have been numerous programs and curricula developed by organizations ranging from individual institutions to governmental agencies and national accreditation bodies to the World Health Organization. Common elements and techniques of programs that have affected the education of providers about patient safety are explored. Additionally, two unique programs that demonstrate specific and reproducible applications of principles gained from the study of adverse patient safety events are discussed. The first was designed by medical professional liability carrier COPIC using more than 20 years of claim data and educates medical students as well as providers seeking continuing education. The second is a national weeklong workshop for residents, convening experts from various constituencies including practicing physicians, national patient safety leadership, academic physicians, hospital administrators, and patient advocates.