Pedagogical workshop as a strategy for educating professionals in patient safety in Primary Health Care: experience report in a Family and Community Medicine residency program in the city of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Problem: The “ecology of medical care” model posits that the majority of healthcare encounters occur outside of hospitals. Despite this, in Brazil, discussions regarding patient safety remained predominantly confined to hospital care until mid-2013. A study estimated that approximately 1.11% of consultations and procedures conducted in Primary Health Care (PHC) involved some type of incident, underscoring the need to broaden discussions on the topic in PHC. Methods: This is an experience report on the development and implementation of an educational workshop on patient safety in PHC, proposed by medical residents and conducted as a theoretical-practical activity of a Family and Community Medicine residency program at a Family Clinic in the Northern Zone of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Results: During the activity, a brief theoretical presentation was given to raise initial awareness of the topic, in which systemic thinking and the “house” metaphor were introduced to facilitate understanding of safety barriers within a service and the visualization of the social construction process of PHC. Using this concept, the authors adapted and conducted a workshop that encouraged the identification of patient safety issues across the eight macroprocesses of PHC. Thus, participants were able to understand the organizational levels of services and their complexity and were invited to share and critically reflect on the practices of different processes and professional groups. Conclusion: The session provided an initial awareness of the topic, highlighting the effectiveness of the chosen approach, as well as the need for further discussions on patient safety in PHC, and greater involvement and broader implementation of actions by all sectors and professionals within the units. More studies are also needed to assess the characteristics of incidents and strategies to improve patient safety in this context.