Patient Safety and Clinical Human Factors (Online Learning)
Provided by The University of Edinburgh Medical School
About the course
Who is this programme for?
This three year, part-time, online MSc programme in Patient Safety and Clinical Human Factors aims to support graduate health care professionals, ranging from nurses, surgeons, anaesthetists, veterinarians, paramedics and those working in healthcare management. Students learn how to use evidence -based tools and techniques to improve the reliability and safety of everyday health care systems and processes.
As an applicant of this degree, you will be looking to distinguish yourself as being an expert in patient safety and looking to move towards specialising or taking a management lead in this field. The programme will draw on teaching materials from a global network of experts.
Due to the unique and completely online nature of the teaching, the programme is an attractive option if you are a professional wishing to secure academic credit or a higher degree in patient safety and are unable to commit to attend on-campus teaching.
Year 1 and 2 of the programme each consist of three 20-credit courses. On successful completion of Year 1 and Year 2 courses, students complete an independent research project in Year 3.
This programme has the following exit awards:
- Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert: 60 credits)
- Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip: 120 credits)
- Master of Science (MSc: 180 credits)
Year 1
Year 1 will cover:
- a broad introduction into the current state of safety in health care
- how harm comes to patients
- a detailed understanding of clinical human factors and ergonomics
Year 2
Year 2 will follow on from the state of healthcare to look at how we can improve safety in healthcare.
This involves examining how good teamwork influences patient outcomes, as well as improving healthcare and medicine management.
You will also focus on quality improvement research and methodologies.
Year 3
Year 3 will follow the highly successful iterative module used by the Masters in Surgical Sciences, involving:
- submission of a project outline
- abstract submission with poster preparation
- completion of a dissertation
The programme has two elements: the taught element (Year 1 and Year 2) and the dissertation element (in Year 3).
The taught element of the programme is divided into six 20 credit courses; three are needed to complete the Certificate and six needed to complete Diploma. Each academic year consists of three teaching blocks, each running over a period of twelve weeks.
During the dissertation element of the programme, you will have the opportunity to further develop your skills by designing and conducting your own research project in your workplace. This dissertation year consists of a phased assessment.
Year 1
60 credits = PgCert
Courses include:
- Introduction to healthcare delivery and what leads to harm (20 credits)
- Clinical Human Factors and ergonomics in Healthcare (20 credits)
- Individual and team skills (20 credits)
Year 2
120 credits = PgDip
Courses include:
- Learning from current practice and governance (20 credits)
- Training for safety (20 credits)
- Quality improvement for safer practice (20 credits)
Year 3
180 credits = MSc
- Dissertation and independent improvement project (60 credits)
Find out more about compulsory and optional courses
We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.
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| Start date | Venue | |
|---|---|---|
| 08 Sep 2025 | Distance learning | Book now |