Perceptions of human factors and patient safety in undergraduate healthcare education: A multidisciplinary perspective

Background: Adoption of Human Factors (HF) principles to healthcare can help to jointly optimise work systems performance and human wellbeing. A recent systematic review identified a lack of formal patient safety (PS) and HF education in undergraduate healthcare curricula. To address this gap, qualitative research is needed to explore faculty and student perspectives, offering a deeper understanding of current educational practices and potential areas for development. Aim: To gain an understanding of faculty and student perceptions relating to PS and HF education in undergraduate medical and pharmacy programmes at an Irish university. Methods: Sampling was purposive and included faculty and undergraduate senior cycle students from the disciplines of medicine and pharmacy. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with faculty and five uni-professional focus groups were conducted with students. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Five overarching themes were identified: 1. Conceptualising PS and HF 2. Curriculum factors impacting PS learning 3. Impact of clinical environment on PS learning 4. Connection between the academic and clinical environment 5. Culture and professional identity Discussion: Participants considered HF to be important for PS education but there was a lack of shared understanding around its meaning. There was a lack of robust competency frameworks underpinning existing PS/HF content. Findings indicate that much PS learning was implicit and occurring while students are on clinical placement. A perceived disconnect between the academic and clinical environments was a recurring theme. Conclusion: This study identifies faculty and student perceptions of gaps relating to HF/PS teaching in undergraduate medicine and pharmacy education in an Irish context. Increased synergy between the academic and clinical environments may help optimise PS/HF learning.