About the course

As a healthcare professional taking the Postgraduate Certificate in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement, you will gain a deeper understanding of the factors influencing patient safety, how these factors interact with each other and how to investigate safety problems. You will learn about quality improvement approaches and how to work with complex systems so as to improve care for patients.

The Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement is a part-time course for healthcare professionals, offered by the Department for Continuing Education in collaboration with the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences. It can be completed in one year (though two years is possible), and consists of three modules, each a week long and taught in Oxford. The department provides online support and e-Library access for distance learning on either side of the Oxford-based weeks.

The PGCert in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement is designed to give you an understanding of:

the basic science behind quality improvement methods including technical, psychological and organisational factors

techniques for implementing, sustaining and measuring systems change

techniques for improving safety in healthcare including human factors, design and ergonomics

There is a growing evidence base that quality improvement and human factors-based projects in healthcare have real impact on clinical outcomes for patients. The University of Oxford has a strong research base in patient safety, and this course benefits from the researchers’ intensive collaboration with clinicians.

The course will appeal to doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, managers and others who have an interest in patient safety and quality improvement.