Safety investigation in healthcare (MHV205)

One of the most fundamental aspects of safety in healthcare is to learn from adverse events to improve future healthcare services. Every year a large number of patients across the world are harmed by adverse events due to for example late diagnosis, wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment, technical failure, medication errors and infections. In order to learn from these events, safety investigation is key. Investigating and learning from serious adverse events is a complex process that confronts many challenges. This course is about safety investigations in healthcare and how these can be understood and approached. The aim of the course is to give students the knowledge, skills, and analytical capacity to understand important conditions for achieving high quality safety investigations in healthcare.


Course description for study year 2025-2026. Please note that changes may occur.

Facts

Course code

MHV205

Version

1

Credits (ECTS)

10

Semester tution start

Autumn

Number of semesters

1

Exam semester

Autumn

Language of instruction

English

Offered by
Time table

View course schedule

Content

The course content is based on recent research into accident and safety investigations in healthcare, but examples from other industries and sectors will be applied when relevant. The course covers the following main topics:

  • Accident models and theoretical foundation for safety investigations
  • Complexity of healthcare systems, technology and people
  • Methods of safety investigations
  • Patient and stakeholder involvement in safety investigations
  • Just culture, safety investigation and organizational learning
  • Simulation in safety investigations

Learning outcome

Upon completion of this course, the students are expected to have the following knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge:

  • Has advanced knowledge about the foundation for different types of safety investigations
  • Has advanced knowledge about existing accident models and theories explaining causality
  • Has advanced knowledge about principles, practices and processes of safety investigations
  • Has advanced knowledge about safety investigation methods in healthcare and other industries
  • Has advanced knowledge about how different stakeholders’ (e.g. patients, next of kin, healthcare professionals, managers, regulators) perspectives and experiences can be incorporated into safety investigations
  • Has advanced knowledge about strengths and limitations in safety investigations

Skills:

  • Can apply accident theories and investigation methods in health care
  • Can evaluate scientific publications in safety investigation

General competence:

  • Can critically analyze different theoretical, methodological and practical approaches to safety investigations in healthcare services.

Required prerequisite knowledge

None

Exam

Form of assessment Weight Duration Marks Aid
Semester assignment 1/1 Letter grades

• Semester assignment (3000 words +/- 10%)

The exam can be answered in English or Norwegian

Coursework requirements

Attendance at seminar
Compulsory attendance at two out of three full-day seminars. All students are expected to participate in group work at the seminars. In the event that a student is prevented from attending more than one seminar, an alternative condition for sitting the exam will be a submission of a reflection note. (Max. 500 words). It is the student's own responsibility to keep track of their attendance and make sure appropriate arrangements are made if this is needed.

Course teacher(s)

Course coordinator:

Cecilie Haraldseid-Driftland

Study Program Director:

Kristin Akerjordet

Method of work

Lectures, group work, case studies and self-studies. Lectures is based on student-active collaborative learning methods, where both individual and team effort is required.

Open for

Students with a Bachelor’s degree in health and social sciences can apply for the course.

Course assessment

There must be an early dialogue between the course supervisor, the student union representative and the students. The purpose is feedback from the students for changes and adjustments in the course for the current semester.In addition, a digital course evaluation must be carried out at least every three years. Its purpose is to gather the students experiences with the course.

Literature

Search for literature in Leganto