Accident Investigation in Healthcare Environments

Workplace accidents and near misses can occur in any facility at any time. This course provides a comprehensive look at the accident investigation process, equipping employees with the knowledge to respond effectively when incidents occur, participate meaningfully in investigations, and help prevent similar events from happening in the future.

Course Highlights

• The difference between workplace accidents and near misses, and why both must always be reported
• Immediate steps to take when an accident occurs, including securing the scene and notifying supervisors
• The stages of a formal accident investigation: planning, scene observation, witness interviews, and documentation review
• How to participate effectively in an investigation as a witness or coworker familiar with the area or task involved
• Root cause analysis (RCA) and how it uncovers the true underlying cause of an accident rather than surface-level factors
• Investigative tools such as fishbone charts and scatterplot diagrams, and how employees can contribute data to support them
• Real-world case studies involving needle stick injuries and electrical shock incidents that illustrate how root cause analysis works in practice
• The four key areas for post-accident improvement: policies, training, equipment, and communication
• How to develop a Corrective and Preventative Action (CAPA) plan to address both immediate fixes and long-term prevention
• The importance of sharing investigation findings with all employees, including new hires

By the end of the course, you will have learned

• How to distinguish between a workplace accident and a near miss, and the appropriate reporting steps for each
• The correct sequence of actions to take immediately following a workplace incident
• What happens during each phase of an accident investigation and how you can contribute as an employee
• How root cause analysis identifies the deeper factors behind an accident, including equipment issues, lack of training, and policy gaps
• How investigative tools like fishbone charts and scatterplot diagrams are used to analyze contributing factors
• How corrective and preventative actions work together to reduce the likelihood of future incidents
• Why sharing investigation results across the entire workforce is essential to building a safer workplace