Patient Safety Specialization

A clear, real-world path through patient safety essentials—designed for healthcare professionals ready to lead safe, impactful systems change.

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access	Lifetime
level	Beginner
certificate	Certificate of completion
language	English

#Coursera

Description
Additional information

What will you learn in Patient Safety Specialization Course

Understand the foundation of patient safety by exploring its history, the concept of high reliability organizations, and the difference between proactive and reactive systems thinking.
Learn how to foster a safety-first environment by building a culture of open communication, accountability, and teamwork that includes patients and families.

Master project planning by applying design thinking, SMART goals, root cause analysis, A3 thinking, and translating research into practice (TRiP).
Develop strategies for long-term success, including pre-mortems to identify project risks, stakeholder engagement, and sustainment planning.

Program Overview

Course 1: Developing a Systems View

⌛ 5 hours

Topics: History of patient safety improvement. High Reliability Organizations. Proactive vs. reactive systems thinking.
Hands-on: Watch videos, read landmark reports, and take a quiz.

Course 2: Safety Culture & Teamwork

⌛ 8 hours

Topics: Core elements of safety culture. Reporting hazards. Role of patients and families. Teamwork strategies.
Hands-on: Engage with videos, readings, and an assignment.

Course 3: Planning Safety & Quality Projects

⌛ 6 hours

Topics: Project scoping. Approach comparisons: A3, Design Thinking, TRiP. Setting SMART goals. Root cause analysis tools.
Hands-on: Apply planning methods and tools in exercises.

Course 4: Designing for Sustainment

⌛ 8 hours

Topics: Planning for lasting change. Premortem risk analysis. Stakeholder engagement (4E’s + 2 model).
Hands-on: Develop change management and stakeholder plans.

Course 5: Implementing Projects

⌛ 10 hours

Topics: Apply the 4E’s and TRiP models. IRB considerations. Address adaptive vs. technical challenges. Scale projects from local to system-level.
Hands-on: Create implementation plans using case studies.

Course 6: Measuring Success

⌛ 7 hours

Topics: Importance of measurement in quality improvement. Data sources and performance measures. Monitoring safety metrics.
Hands-on: Identify and interpret metrics for project evaluation.

Course 7: Capstone Next Level Safety Work

⌛ 12 hours

Topics: Apply your skills to a real-case scenario. Identify defects and root causes. Build A3 plans, change strategies, and measurement tools.
Hands-on: Complete a capstone project with real-world application.

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Job Outlook

Ideal for healthcare professionals—like nurses, hospital administrators, or quality managers—who need to lead safety and improvement projects.
Equips healthcare workers to serve as Clinical Leaders or Patient Safety Officers, shaping safer healthcare systems through continuous quality improvement.
Valuable for policy influencers and program designers in healthcare operations, safety assurance, and risk management.

9.7Expert Score

Highly Recommendedx

A comprehensive and accessible specialization that helps healthcare learners build the mindset and skillset needed to design, implement, and sustain patient safety initiatives—ending with an immersive capstone that brings everything together.

Value

9.5

Price

9.3

Skills

9.8

Information

9.7

PROS

All beginner-level—no advanced experience needed, yet substantive in scope across seven hands-on courses.
High learner satisfaction: approximately 4.8/5 across over 1,500 reviews.
Covers the full improvement cycle—from systems thinking and culture building to measurement and expansion.

CONS

Not technical—focuses more on leadership and process than data-heavy analytics.
Time commitment can be significant: 4 weeks per course at ~10 hours/week, totaling around 28 weeks.