Human factors in anaesthetic practice part I: facts and fallacies

Summary

A recent paper (from clinicians and Human Factors specialists at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust) jointly supported by Elsevier and BJA Education clarifies what Human Factors (HF) is by highlighting and redressing key myths. 

The learning objectives from the paper are as follows:

1. Identify common myths around HF
2. Describe what HF is
3. Discuss the importance of HF specialists in healthcare
4. Distinguish the importance of a systems-based approach and user-centred design for HF practice. 

It explains that HF is a scientific discipline in its own right, a complex adaptive system very much like healthcare. Its principle have been used within healthcare for decades but often in an informal way. 

A link to the summary of the article on Science Direct and further links to purchase the paper can be found here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2058534923000963?dgcid=author 

About the author

Jennifer Macallan BSc (Hons) FRCA FFICM is a specialty registrar in anaesthesia and intensive care. She completed a fellowship in human factors at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust.

Jenny Sutcliffe BSc (Hons) MSc MCIEHF CErgHF is a human factors specialist at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. She has a Master’s in Applied Psychology and is a chartered ergonomist. She provides human factors expertise to the SCReaM Human Factors and Team Resource Management Programme and the Trust.

Suzi Lomax BM (Hons) BSc (Hons) FRCA PGCert (Dist) is a consultant anaesthetist at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust and has a PGCert in Patient Safety and Clinical Risk Management. She is lead for the SCReaM Human Factors and Team Resource Management Programme, aimed at improving safety and wellbeing for patients and staff, and system performance