Developing and Delivering a SEIPS Masterclass for Patient Safety Practice
Tracks
Room 1
| Monday, November 30, 2026 |
| 2:30 PM - 2:50 PM |
| Plenary Room - Grand Central |
Overview
Ryan Thomas
Speaker
Mr Ryan Thomas
Clinical Excellence Commission
Developing and Delivering a SEIPS Masterclass for Patient Safety Practice
Abstract
Context: HFE is regularly referenced in healthcare policy yet access to HFE expertise within healthcare remains limited. As a result, clinicians are often expected to apply human factors concepts without formal training or specialist support. To be effective and scalable, HFE approaches must be adapted to fit clinician capability, language, and everyday patient safety activities. The Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model provides a structured way to teach HFE and help clinicians understand work as done.
Aim: To describe the development, delivery, and early impact of a SEIPS‑based masterclass designed to build clinicians’ HFE capability and support application of systems thinking to patient safety practice.
Approach: An interactive program was developed for clinicians across NSW Health to address this gap. Content progressed from foundational HFE concepts, to practical application of SEIPS. Learning methods combined real healthcare design examples, facilitated discussion, and group activities applying SEIPS to familiar tasks and clinical incidents.
Results: Immediate evaluation (n=79) showed strong perceived value, with all participants agreeing the masterclass was a good use of time and relevant to their role. Self‑reported confidence in applying SEIPS increased from predominantly low confidence pre‑session to fair or high confidence post‑session. Qualitative feedback highlighted the value of practical application, clearer systems‑based language, and a shift away from individual blame. Follow‑up evaluation (n=19) one year on demonstrated translation into practice, with participants reporting use of SEIPS in incident reviews, quality improvement projects, service redesign, and education. Some reported improvements in analytical depth, safety culture, and workflow efficiency, alongside recognised challenges such as time and capability constraints.
Implications: This work demonstrates how adapting HFE frameworks for clinician use can create a shared language for patient safety, improve understanding of Human Factors principles, and support consistent systems‑based analysis across healthcare, strengthening safety learning beyond reliance on specialist expertise.
Aim: To describe the development, delivery, and early impact of a SEIPS‑based masterclass designed to build clinicians’ HFE capability and support application of systems thinking to patient safety practice.
Approach: An interactive program was developed for clinicians across NSW Health to address this gap. Content progressed from foundational HFE concepts, to practical application of SEIPS. Learning methods combined real healthcare design examples, facilitated discussion, and group activities applying SEIPS to familiar tasks and clinical incidents.
Results: Immediate evaluation (n=79) showed strong perceived value, with all participants agreeing the masterclass was a good use of time and relevant to their role. Self‑reported confidence in applying SEIPS increased from predominantly low confidence pre‑session to fair or high confidence post‑session. Qualitative feedback highlighted the value of practical application, clearer systems‑based language, and a shift away from individual blame. Follow‑up evaluation (n=19) one year on demonstrated translation into practice, with participants reporting use of SEIPS in incident reviews, quality improvement projects, service redesign, and education. Some reported improvements in analytical depth, safety culture, and workflow efficiency, alongside recognised challenges such as time and capability constraints.
Implications: This work demonstrates how adapting HFE frameworks for clinician use can create a shared language for patient safety, improve understanding of Human Factors principles, and support consistent systems‑based analysis across healthcare, strengthening safety learning beyond reliance on specialist expertise.
Biography
Ryan Thomas is the Senior Clinical Lead for Patient Safety at the Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) and leads the Human Factors program. He began his career as a registered nurse at Westmead Hospital in 2003, spending 13 years in the Intensive Care Unit in a range of clinical and leadership roles. He continued his critical care focus by completing his Masters in Critical Care Nursing. In 2016, Ryan commenced as theCritical Care Clinical Nurse Consultant at Hornsby Hospital before moving into a patient safety work with the CEC in 2020. For the past four years, Ryan has led Human Factors initiatives at the CEC, combining his clinical expertise with a passion for improving systems and processes to enhance safety across NSW Health. He is also Co-Chair of the SDPR Decision Support Specialty Content Group, ensuring human factors principles are embedded in statewide decision support design.
