An Assessment of an Educational Intervention on Resident Physician Attitudes, Knowledge, and Skills Related to Adverse Event Reporting

OBJECTIVE: Reporting and learning from events linked to patient harm and unsafe conditions is critical to improving patient safety. Programs that engage resident physicians in adverse event reporting can enhance patient safety and simultaneously address all 6 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies. Yet fewer than 60% of physicians know how to report adverse events and near misses, and fewer than 40% know what to report. Our study evaluated the effect of an educational intervention on anesthesiology residents' attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to adverse event reporting and the associated follow-up. METHODS: In a prospective study, anesthesiology residents participated in a training program focused on the importance of reporting methods and on reporting adverse events for patient safety. Quarterly adverse event reports were analyzed retrospectively for 2 years before the intervention and prospectively for 7 quarters after the intervention. Residents also completed a survey, before and 1 year after the intervention, that evaluated their attitudes, experience, and knowledge regarding adverse event reporting. RESULTS: After the intervention, the number of adverse event reports increased from 0 per quarter to almost 30 per quarter. We identified several categories of harm events, near misses, and unsafe conditions, including reports of disruptive providers. Of the harm events associated with invasive procedures, more than half were associated with lack of attending physician supervision. We also observed significant progress in the residents' ability to appropriately file a report, improved attitudes regarding the value of reporting and available emotional support, and a reduction in the perceived impediments to reporting. CONCLUSIONS: An educational intervention increased the number of adverse event reports submitted by anesthesiology residents, improved their attitudes about the importance of reporting, and produced a source for learning opportunities and process improvements in the delivery of anesthesia care.