About the Human Factors / Ergonomics (Safety Science) for Patient Safety: Level 1 – Understanding programme
The Human Factors Healthcare Learning Pathway offers a complete programme for health and social care staff, with the aim of developing competence and capability in Human Factors (Ergonomics), focused on the areas of patient safety and staff wellbeing. The pathway includes 3 levels, which are explained in more detail below.
- Level 1 (Awareness) is an elearning session which takes approximately 1 hour to complete. Learners will be introduced to Human Factors in safety incidents with applications for everyday work and to improve safety for both patients and staff. You can access the session via the Health Education England elearning for healthcare hub, or through Loughborough University.
- Level 2 (Understanding) is a series of 9 one-day blended (distance) learning courses on a range of topics from Systems and Task Analysis to Risk Analysis, Incident Investigation, Medical Equipment Design and Teamwork. Available through Loughborough University.
- Level 3 (Demonstrates) offers professional mentorship with a reflective practice portfolio to achieve eligibility for the pragmatic, flexible and transferrable qualification of Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) Technical Specialist ‘TechCIEHF (Healthcare)’. Available through Loughborough University.
Primary and secondary audiences
The elearning session and the Pathway will be of interest to anyone in a health and social care role, interested in learning more about the positive impact of Human Factors (Ergonomics) on healthcare in general and patient safety in particular.
More information
Further information about the Human Factors Healthcare Learning Pathway is available via Loughborough University website, including access to the learning resources via the university website.
The elearning session was tested with members of Loughborough University Human Factors Alumni HUB group, who are all qualified in Human Factors Ergonomics and hold professional positions within medical devices companies, Academic Health Science Networks and NHS Trusts and management groups.
The elearning session has received accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors and the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certification service.
Meet the team
Professor Sue Hignett, Professor of Healthcare Ergonomics & Patient Safety, School of Design & Creative Arts (SDCA), Loughborough University
She is a Fellow of the CIEHF, Certified European Ergonomist and Chartered Physiotherapist (MCSP). Sue has a clinical background and worked as a medical scientist, Physiotherapist and healthcare Ergonomist for over 20 years in UK, Australia and New Zealand before joining Loughborough University in 2002.
Dr Mike Fray, Director of Postgraduate Studies, School of Design & Creative Arts (SDCA), Loughborough University
He is a Graduate Member of the CIEHF. After initially working in transport ergonomics, he specialised in rehabilitation and injury prevention for healthcare workers. His research focuses on the application of Human Factors/Ergonomics in a wide range of health and physical performance areas including patient handling, injury reduction, adapted sport (e.g., visual impairment) and improving the quality of care
Dr Thomas Jun, Reader in Human Factors and Complex Systems, Loughborough University
A Chartered Ergonomist & Human Factors Specialist, he is a researcher, educator, design facilitator and award-winning animation/film producer working in a broad field of human factors, system safety and participatory design. His expertise is in applying systems science, behavioural science and complexity science to the participatory analysis/design of complex socio-technical systems, e.g., healthcare, energy and transportation
Dr Helen Vosper, Chartered Ergonomist and Lead for Patient Safety, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen
She is a graduate of Loughborough University MSc Human Factors Programme and an academic with 15 years’ experience of teaching Human Factors/Ergonomics to healthcare students and professionals. Helen also has a part-time role as a Senior Investigation Science Educator at the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch and is a scientific adviser in Human Factors and Patient Safety to NHS Education for Scotland
Dr Tracey Herlihey, Head of Patient Safety Incident Response Policy, NHS England and NHS Improvement
Before joining NHS England and NHS Improvement , Tracey worked at the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB), initially as a National Investigator and then as Head of Safety Intelligence. She is a Chartered Human Factors Specialist and Chartered Psychologist and has a PhD in Applied Psychology from Cardiff University specialising in Human Perception and Performance. Prior to HSIB Tracey was a Senior Human Factors Specialist at the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada
Dr Mark Sujan, Chartered Ergonomist and Managing Director of Human Factors Everywhere
The company provides ergonomics input to applied research projects and offers consultancy and training in ergonomics across a range of safety-critical industries. Mark is a Trustee of the CIEHF and leads the Institute’s special interest group on Digital Health & Artificial Intelligence
How to Access
In order to access any elfh programme, you will need an elfh account. If you do not have one, then you can register by selecting the Register button below.
If you already have an account with elfh, then you can enrol on to the Human Factors / Ergonomics (Safety Science) for Patient Safety: Level 1 – Understanding programme by logging in to the elfh Hub, selecting My Account > Enrolment and selecting the programme. You can then access the programme immediately in the My e-Learning section.
NHS healthcare staff in England – ESR
The Human Factors / Ergonomics (Safety Science) for Patient Safety: Level 1 – Understanding programme is also available to NHS healthcare staff via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). Accessing this e-learning via ESR means that your completions will transfer with you throughout your NHS career.
Further details are available here.
Not an NHS organisation?
If you are not an NHS health or care organisation and therefore do not qualify for free access elfh Hub, you may be able to access the service by creating an OpenAthens account.
To check whether or not you qualify for free access via OpenAthens, you can view the eligibility criteria and register on the ‘OpenAthens’ portal.