TY - GEN
T1 - From training to competency
T2 - A qualitative investigation of how qualified in-hospital healthcare personnel transfer human factor skills from an in situ simulation-based training course to competency in the complex clinical practice
AU - Abildgren, Lotte
PY - 2024/3/4
Y1 - 2024/3/4
N2 - Introduction: This PhD thesis developed knowledge on qualified in-hospital healthcare personnel’s transfer of human factor skills to competency in clinical practice. The topicality was based on the fact that patient safety is crucial in modern healthcare. Further, in 2019, the World Health Organisation emphasised patient safety as a fundamental area of attention. Research and existing efforts focus on preventing adverse events and emphasise learning from errors to improve healthcare practices. Despite the effort, the number of reported adverse events in Danish hospitals has stabilised instead of reduced. The economic and human impacts of adverse events on healthcare underscore the necessity of attending to cognitive, social, and psychological factors (human factor skills) influencing patient safety. Background: The approach to learning from errors primarily focuses on providing knowledge and
procedures to reduce errors. In recent years, training in acute critical situations has also been used
to improve patient safety. Existing research indicates that simulation-based training enhances the
knowledge and skills of pregraduate healthcare students and that participants through simulationbased technical skills training demonstrate advancement along the learning curve when applying
the skills in clinical practice, compared to no training. However, whether this result could be
applied to human factor skills is unknown. A systematic review was conducted to investigate the
effectiveness of training qualified healthcare personnel’s human factor skills through simulationbased training. The findings support the applicability of simulation-based training to enhance
human factor skills. Still, the process by which the taught and trained skills are translated into
clinical practice competency remains unclear. This revealed a scientific gap regarding transfer of
human factor skills from simulation-based training to competency in clinical practice.Aim: This PhD study aimed to develop knowledge of how qualified healthcare personnel within a
hospital setting transferred human factor skills acquired through a simulation-based training
course into everyday clinical competency. The personnel’s human factor skills competency was
investigated before, during and after a simulation-based training course. The aim was based on
the following overall research question: How do qualified healthcare personnel transfer human
factors skills taught and trained in an in situ simulation-based training to competency in everyday
clinical practice? Method: The study comprised a qualitative research design and was methodologically and
theoretically informed by the assumptions of phenomenological-hermeneutic based on Ricœur’s
critical hermeneutic. The study’s complexity in capturing physical, psychological and sociocultural
changes in qualified healthcare personnel was built upon several theoretical frameworks within
the quality of care, didactics and transfer. Ethnographic fieldwork was used to investigate the
personnel’s transfer of human factor skills. A hybrid analytical method (RI-CEA) was developed to
explore how transfer emerged. RI-CEA comprised a Ricœur-inspired analytical approach and
Cognitive Event Analysis, which enabled a 1st and 3rd person's perspective on data. The ethnographic data was collected between February 2019 and February 2020 and included
approximately 107 hours of video recordings, field notes, and written reflections. Findings: The systematic review highlighted the need to reconsider the focus on transferring
human factor skills. Numerous assessment tools have been developed to render human factor
skills visible for modifications during and immediately after simulation-based training. The
systematic review asserted the effectiveness of training human factor skills among qualified
healthcare personnel, but challenges in appraising human factor skills development impede
comparisons of effectiveness. The perception of human factor skills as innate and challenging to
train persists, posing a potential obstacle in transitioning human factor skills from simulationbased training to competency. This conclusion served as a foundational understanding for the
subsequent ethnographic study.The ethnographic study comprised three phases: Clinical phase (before), Simulation-based training
phase (during) and Transfer phase (after). The naïve reading of the data from the Clinical phase
revealed a highly switchable clinical practice. The analytical themes of coordination, interruptions,
educational responsibilities, teamwork, and situational awareness were integrated into the
training course in the following phase. The simulation-based training phase underscored the
importance of training. Participants expressed a focus on technical skills but lacked emphasis on
or practice of human factor skills in the everyday. The structural analysis identified the themes of
educational responsibilities, feedback, decision-making, leadership, and teamwork, shaping the
focus in the subsequent Transfer phase. The Transfer phase revealed engaged qualified healthcare
personnel open to human factor skills training and emphasised positive interest. However,
challenges included the lack of human factor skills-language, time constraints, and a dilemma
between wanting to improve human factor skills and the experience of lack of priority among
colleagues and organisations.The analysis found three key transfer levels: Individual, Intercollegiate and Organisational transfer
of learning. These interconnected and interdependent levels shed light on the limited extent of
human factor skills transfer after simulation-based training. The findings suggested that the
acquisition of human factor skills occurred at both individual and intercollegiate levels. However,
for adequate transfer, there was a need for organisational awareness and support to ensure that
knowledge translates into competency in clinical practice. Inadequate awareness and support for
transfer, internalisation, and retention of human factor skills at the organisational level
contributed to these shortcomings.Implications: This thesis explored the understudied transfer process of human factor skills from
simulation-based training to competency in clinical practice. Findings suggested a need for a
broader training focus, involvement of local human factor skills ambassadors and coordinated
planning between simulation centres and organisations to optimise human factor skills transfer
and improve patient safety. The research identified areas for further exploration, including developing a generic transfer strategy, assessing its impact on competency, and investigating the
relationship between healthcare personnel's human factor skills competency and patient safety.
AB - Introduction: This PhD thesis developed knowledge on qualified in-hospital healthcare personnel’s transfer of human factor skills to competency in clinical practice. The topicality was based on the fact that patient safety is crucial in modern healthcare. Further, in 2019, the World Health Organisation emphasised patient safety as a fundamental area of attention. Research and existing efforts focus on preventing adverse events and emphasise learning from errors to improve healthcare practices. Despite the effort, the number of reported adverse events in Danish hospitals has stabilised instead of reduced. The economic and human impacts of adverse events on healthcare underscore the necessity of attending to cognitive, social, and psychological factors (human factor skills) influencing patient safety. Background: The approach to learning from errors primarily focuses on providing knowledge and
procedures to reduce errors. In recent years, training in acute critical situations has also been used
to improve patient safety. Existing research indicates that simulation-based training enhances the
knowledge and skills of pregraduate healthcare students and that participants through simulationbased technical skills training demonstrate advancement along the learning curve when applying
the skills in clinical practice, compared to no training. However, whether this result could be
applied to human factor skills is unknown. A systematic review was conducted to investigate the
effectiveness of training qualified healthcare personnel’s human factor skills through simulationbased training. The findings support the applicability of simulation-based training to enhance
human factor skills. Still, the process by which the taught and trained skills are translated into
clinical practice competency remains unclear. This revealed a scientific gap regarding transfer of
human factor skills from simulation-based training to competency in clinical practice.Aim: This PhD study aimed to develop knowledge of how qualified healthcare personnel within a
hospital setting transferred human factor skills acquired through a simulation-based training
course into everyday clinical competency. The personnel’s human factor skills competency was
investigated before, during and after a simulation-based training course. The aim was based on
the following overall research question: How do qualified healthcare personnel transfer human
factors skills taught and trained in an in situ simulation-based training to competency in everyday
clinical practice? Method: The study comprised a qualitative research design and was methodologically and
theoretically informed by the assumptions of phenomenological-hermeneutic based on Ricœur’s
critical hermeneutic. The study’s complexity in capturing physical, psychological and sociocultural
changes in qualified healthcare personnel was built upon several theoretical frameworks within
the quality of care, didactics and transfer. Ethnographic fieldwork was used to investigate the
personnel’s transfer of human factor skills. A hybrid analytical method (RI-CEA) was developed to
explore how transfer emerged. RI-CEA comprised a Ricœur-inspired analytical approach and
Cognitive Event Analysis, which enabled a 1st and 3rd person's perspective on data. The ethnographic data was collected between February 2019 and February 2020 and included
approximately 107 hours of video recordings, field notes, and written reflections. Findings: The systematic review highlighted the need to reconsider the focus on transferring
human factor skills. Numerous assessment tools have been developed to render human factor
skills visible for modifications during and immediately after simulation-based training. The
systematic review asserted the effectiveness of training human factor skills among qualified
healthcare personnel, but challenges in appraising human factor skills development impede
comparisons of effectiveness. The perception of human factor skills as innate and challenging to
train persists, posing a potential obstacle in transitioning human factor skills from simulationbased training to competency. This conclusion served as a foundational understanding for the
subsequent ethnographic study.The ethnographic study comprised three phases: Clinical phase (before), Simulation-based training
phase (during) and Transfer phase (after). The naïve reading of the data from the Clinical phase
revealed a highly switchable clinical practice. The analytical themes of coordination, interruptions,
educational responsibilities, teamwork, and situational awareness were integrated into the
training course in the following phase. The simulation-based training phase underscored the
importance of training. Participants expressed a focus on technical skills but lacked emphasis on
or practice of human factor skills in the everyday. The structural analysis identified the themes of
educational responsibilities, feedback, decision-making, leadership, and teamwork, shaping the
focus in the subsequent Transfer phase. The Transfer phase revealed engaged qualified healthcare
personnel open to human factor skills training and emphasised positive interest. However,
challenges included the lack of human factor skills-language, time constraints, and a dilemma
between wanting to improve human factor skills and the experience of lack of priority among
colleagues and organisations.The analysis found three key transfer levels: Individual, Intercollegiate and Organisational transfer
of learning. These interconnected and interdependent levels shed light on the limited extent of
human factor skills transfer after simulation-based training. The findings suggested that the
acquisition of human factor skills occurred at both individual and intercollegiate levels. However,
for adequate transfer, there was a need for organisational awareness and support to ensure that
knowledge translates into competency in clinical practice. Inadequate awareness and support for
transfer, internalisation, and retention of human factor skills at the organisational level
contributed to these shortcomings.Implications: This thesis explored the understudied transfer process of human factor skills from
simulation-based training to competency in clinical practice. Findings suggested a need for a
broader training focus, involvement of local human factor skills ambassadors and coordinated
planning between simulation centres and organisations to optimise human factor skills transfer
and improve patient safety. The research identified areas for further exploration, including developing a generic transfer strategy, assessing its impact on competency, and investigating the
relationship between healthcare personnel's human factor skills competency and patient safety.
KW - human factor skills
KW - simulation-based training
KW - competency
KW - in-hospital
KW - qualified healthcare personnel
KW - didactics
KW - quality of care
KW - Paul Ricoeur
KW - Cognitive Event Analysis
KW - ethnography
KW - teamwork
KW - adult learning
KW - continuing professional development
KW - patient safety
KW - implementation
KW - retention of skills
KW - transformative learning
KW - culture changes
U2 - 10.21996/wjys-1t54
DO - 10.21996/wjys-1t54
M3 - Ph.D. thesis
PB - Syddansk Universitet. Det Sundhedsvidenskabelige Fakultet
ER -