Human Factors for Patient Safety Leadership
PostgraduateMUR-SHP6022025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Explore why humans are error prone and the strategies that protect patients from these errors. See how technology, processes, and teamwork make health care safer. Learn to work with machines and other people for better care outcomes for patients.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 20 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 15 weeks
- Price from
- $2,160
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Human Factors for Patient Safety Leadership
About this subject
On successful completion of the subject you should be able to:
- Apply the principles of Human Factors used in evidence-based practice to prevent errors in health care delivery
- Explain the cognitive and behavioural characteristics of humans that potentially lead to errors in health care delivery in relation to working environments, machines and technology
- Use reflective learning to identify and manage human factors in your own workplace
- Demonstrate knowledge of human factors to develop strategies to reduce risk of errors during medication administration, teamwork and communication, clinical handover, and clinical deterioration
- Analyse current evidence to identify and manage human factors and improve safety and quality in healthcare
- Introduction to Human Factors
- Human Factors and Working Environments, Machinery and Technology
- Human Factors and Medication Errors
- Human Factors and Teamwork & Situation Awareness
- Human Factors and the use of Structured tools to improve Clinical Handover
- Human Factors: Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration
This subject was previously known as Human Factors: The Impact on Patient Safety.
The study of Human Factors provides understanding of human characteristics and applies this to improving the design of machines, systems and team environments to reduce the likelihood of error in health care.
This subject examines cognitive and behavioural characteristics that make humans error prone. Strategies to improve the human-machine interface and human to human interactions will be identified and examined. The subject focuses on achievable ways of using human factors to build defences into the healthcare system to protect patients.
Please Note: All students studying at Murdoch University will need to complete the compulsory unit, Murdoch Academic Passport (MAP100), which only takes 2-3 hours to complete online. Find out more: http://goto.murdoch.edu.au/MurdochAcademicPassport.
These assessments allow students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding, analysis and evaluation skills and application of theoretical concepts to practice. Additionally, these assessments allow students to further develop academic and professional communication skills. Detailed feedback is provided on all assessments in addition to marking rubrics to facilitate student learning and achievement of unit learning outcomes.
- Online Discussion Forum (30%)
- Concept Map (30%)
- Written Report (40%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 27
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 26
Entry requirements
Part of a degree
To enrol in this subject you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:
Core
- MUR-HCM-MAS-2025 - Master of Health Care Management
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
MUR-SHP602U (Not currently available)
Others
Enrolment in a graduate degree.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
Related degrees
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Master of Health Care Management
PostgraduateMUR-HCM-MAS