Presentation
PS1 - Applying Human Factors Methods to Improve Workflow Safety in Transitioning to a New Special Care Nursery Unit
DescriptionThe physical healthcare environment influences how work is accomplished, including workflow, equipment, human resources and patient experience, and healthcare worker’s ability to provide safe care. In particular, transitioning to a new space affords being proactive in identifying opportunities to improve safety for critical tasks and workflows. The Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) and Guelph General Hospital (GGH) recently collaborated on an applied patient safety project to better understand opportunities to improve workflow and workspace in GGH’s Special Care Nursery Unit (SCN) as the department transitioned to a new space. This talk discusses the collaborative work and lessons learned between human factors experts from HIROC and SCN’s leadership team to design and deploy a two-phase applied safety project.
• Phase 1: Observations
- Used contextual inquiry and observations over three days in the current unit.
- Synthesized findings to identify critical workflows and tasks.
- Developed scenarios to identify opportunities to improve workflow and safety in the new unit.
• Phase 2: Simulations
- Conducted simulation walkthroughs with 14 nurses in the new unit.
- Conducted individually or in groups of up to four to gather feedback.
- Collected feedback on value of simulations from Staff.
- Synthesized findings to share with the SCN.
The collected data and observations were used to share opportunities to build resilience in the Special Care Nursery Unit. In this presentation, we will highlight key findings, as such the value of additional tools to support communication between nurses. We will also offer several lessons learned from this collaborative work, including:
• Demonstrating how a new environment can impact workflow and introduce new considerations for safety.
• Highlighting how human factors methods can be used to highlight opportunities to improve safety in newly constructed clinical spaces.
• Demonstrating how a front-line ownership approach can support generative solutioning for critical workflows.
• Phase 1: Observations
- Used contextual inquiry and observations over three days in the current unit.
- Synthesized findings to identify critical workflows and tasks.
- Developed scenarios to identify opportunities to improve workflow and safety in the new unit.
• Phase 2: Simulations
- Conducted simulation walkthroughs with 14 nurses in the new unit.
- Conducted individually or in groups of up to four to gather feedback.
- Collected feedback on value of simulations from Staff.
- Synthesized findings to share with the SCN.
The collected data and observations were used to share opportunities to build resilience in the Special Care Nursery Unit. In this presentation, we will highlight key findings, as such the value of additional tools to support communication between nurses. We will also offer several lessons learned from this collaborative work, including:
• Demonstrating how a new environment can impact workflow and introduce new considerations for safety.
• Highlighting how human factors methods can be used to highlight opportunities to improve safety in newly constructed clinical spaces.
• Demonstrating how a front-line ownership approach can support generative solutioning for critical workflows.
Event Type
Poster Presentation
TimeTuesday, March 264:45pm - 6:15pm CDT
LocationSalon C
Digital Health
Simulation and Education
Hospital Environments
Medical and Drug Delivery Devices
Patient Safety Research and Initiatives