Developing an appreciation of patient safety: analysis of interprofessional student experiences with health mentors

INTRODUCTION: A critical task for health profession educators is to foster student appreciation of patient quality and safety issues. Although instructional methods vary, few focus on the direct communication of the patient experience to students. This qualitative study explores the experiences and learning of health profession students participating in a Safety Module in the Health Mentor Programme. METHODS: Small interprofessional groups of students were paired with a health mentor, an individual experiencing chronic health challenges. Students followed a 90-minute, semi-structured interview format exploring issues regarding quality care and safety. Following the interviews, students participated in a facilitated asynchronous online discussion and completed a reflective practice paper. An inductive thematic analysis of both of these text-based datasets revealed emerging themes. RESULTS: Themes identified in the data included: Patient partnerships as critical to optimal care; consideration of a variety of safety issues; importance of advocacy in promoting safety; improvement of future practice enabled through patient perspectives on clinical error; and embracing of interprofessional communication and collaboration. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that engagement with the health mentor narratives facilitated students’ appreciation of quality and safety issues related to patient care.