Hi ,
In a field that’s constantly evolving like patient safety and human factors, it helps to maintain genuine curiosity, finding inspiration in unexpected places, and keeping yourself intellectually engaged with the work. I get asked quite often about how I keep up to date with developments in patient safety and human factors, and honestly? Yes, I read the journals and attend the conferences (you might have seen me at HSJ Congress) but some of my most valuable professional development comes from sources that don’t mention patient safety at all.
I spend a lot of time in the car, some of my most valuable learning comes from podcasts, and I thought sharing some of my favourites might help you – and perhaps you’d be tempted to share some in return! . Here are some that have really resonated with the work we do:
My Favourite Podcasts
Serial – The Retrievals (Season 1 & 2) – Season 1 focuses on fertility clinic experiences (trigger warning if this is sensitive for you), it is a fantastic look at systems of work, without naming it like that! What struck me most in Season 2 about Susannah Stanford and her role in events. The way investigative journalism unpacks complex systems and human decisions mirrors so much of what we do in patient safety investigations.
Pre-accident Podcast with Tod Conklin – This is a fav, and with such a significant back catalogue now, there’s something for everyone – I absolutely love dipping into the safety moments on this podcast, and I could just listen to his accent all day (I’d also add that he’s even better live – so if you have the chance ever to go to a conference he’s speaking at, go!)
Annaliese Barbieri’s interview with Lucy Easthope (why you can never plan too much) – Lucy talks about how we support those affected by large-scale disasters, and the considerations we need to make really resonated with how we need to think about patients and families when things go wrong. If you haven’t read her book “When the Dust Settles,” add it to your list. It’s brilliant.
Brené Brown – She has her own podcast, and has previously been on DOAC (Diary of a CEO), where she ran through a lot of her research in a really relatable way. She’s fantastic for thinking about how we work in teams, vulnerability in leadership, and creating psychologically safe spaces – all crucial for effective learning responses.
High Performance Podcast – If I’m 100% honest, I’m feeling a bit annoyed with the undercurrent of sexism in this podcast, so it’s dropped off my listen list a bit, however the episode with Sarina Wiegman is really good on how we lead with compassion.
The rest is politics: Leading – There is loads in here, I was surprised by the Jeremy Hunt episode, but my favourite is Robert Sapolsky’s episode which talks through a systems perspective through a different lens, it resonated with me in how we think about why people do the things they do.
Ezra Klein’s “Best of: A revelatory tour of Martin Luther King Junior’s forgotten teachings” – This might seem like a random one, but there are some lovely pieces around advocacy without violence and doing no harm that really resonate with our approaches to learning from incidents.
My Favourite Books
So, there are lots of textbooks that I would recommend (Charles and Rene’s Safer Healthcare: strategies for the real world is free, and definitely worth a download). But for those that like a hard copy read…
Justice for LB – This is still a favourite in the patient and family voice space. Sara’s writing screams the frustration of being held away from organisations, and I think her visceral reactions help me build empathy for what families experience when they’re not genuinely involved in learning responses.
The Body Keeps the Score – It’s a fantastic (but long!) book about our trauma response. Understanding trauma has fundamentally changed how I think about compassionate engagement with staff involved in incidents, and why our investigation processes can cause such harm when we get them wrong.
None of these are traditional patient safety resources (ok, maybe Charles and Todd’s are), but I think this wide variety helps me in this work. They keep me questioning my assumptions, seeing patterns in different industries and contexts,
I’ve shared mine – what are your resources? Where do you find fresh perspectives and new ways of thinking about patient safety? I’m always open to books, blogs, podcasts, or anything else that’s shaped your thinking.
Thanks,
Lauren
