Residents' intentions and actions after patient safety education

BACKGROUND: Medical residents are key figures in delivering care and an important target group for patient safety education. The objective of this study was to assess residents' intentions and actions concerning patient safety improvement after patient safety education. METHODS: Four multi-specialty 2-day patient safety courses were organized, in which residents from five Dutch hospitals participated. At the end of these courses participants were asked to formulate an action point to improve patient safety. Three months later semi-structured interviews were conducted to reveal actions that were taken, factors that had influenced their behaviour and reactions concerning the education. An inductive theory approach was used to analyze transcriptions. RESULTS: Out of 71 participants, sixty-nine (97%) residents were interviewed. In total they had formulated 91 action points, which mainly focused on: 'Improving organization of own work/Follow policies' and 'Improving culture/Educating colleagues about patient safety'. Sixty-two (90%) residents declared to have taken action, and 50 (55%) action points were fully carried out. Most actions taken were at the level of the individual professional, rather than at the level of their social or organizational context. Results of actions included adjusting the structure of their own work, organizing patient safety education for colleagues, communicating more efficiently and in a more structured way with colleagues, and reporting incidents. Promoters for action included: 'Awareness of the importance of the action to be taken', 'Supportive attitude of colleagues' and 'Having received patient safety education'. Barriers included: 'Impeding attitude of colleagues', 'High work-pressure', 'Hierarchy' and 'Switching of work stations'. CONCLUSIONS: After patient safety training, residents reported various intentions to contribute to patient safety improvement. Numerous actions were taken, but there still is a discrepancy between intentions and actual behaviour. To increase residents' participation in patient safety improvement, educational efforts should be supplemented with actions to remove experienced barriers, most of which are related to the residents' social and organizational context.