A randomised controlled trial of patient led training in medical education: protocol

A randomised cluster controlled trial will be conducted. The intervention will be incorporated into the mandatory training of junior doctors training programme on patient safety. The study will be conducted in the Yorkshire and Humber region in the North of England. Patients who have experienced a safety incident in the NHS will be recruited. Patients will be identified through National Patient Safety Champions and local Trust contacts. Patients will receive training and be supported to talk to small groups of trainees about their experiences. The primary aim of the patient-led teaching module is to increase the awareness of patient safety issues amongst doctors, allow reflection on their own attitudes towards safety and promote an optimal culture among the doctors to improve safety in practice. A mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to evaluate the impact of the intervention, using the Attitudes to Patient Safety Questionnaire (APSQ) as our primary quantitative outcome, as well as focus groups and semi-structured interviews.The research team face a number of challenges in developing the intervention, including integrating a new method of teaching into an existing curriculum, facilitating effective patient involvement and identifying suitable outcome measures.Current controlled Trials: ISRCTN94241579Patient safety is an international health priority [1]. Estimates suggest that approximately 1 in 10 patients admitted to National Health Services hospitals in the UK is involved in an incident which results in harm to patients [2] with a subsequent cost to the NHS of over ￡2 billion [3]. Strategies to reduce patient safety incidents have shifted the focus from a person centred approach where errors are viewed as occurring as the result of the individual, to developing a systems approach whereby individual error is accepted and mechanisms are put in place to ensure that error is reduced in the environment in which it occurs [3,4].There is an incre