Educational Material

[Article] Professional education and its impact on the management of health incidents and adverse events

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Patient safety is a strategic axis for healthcare institutions committed to quality care. Incidents related to assistance, whether with or without damage, often reveals systemic failures, inefficient communication between teams, lack of knowledge of protocols or gaps in work processes.

In this scenario, regular team training contributes significantly to the standardization of conduct, especially when grounded on protocols based on scientific evidence and the guidelines of major health organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA). Furthermore, continuing education improves clinical reasoning and early identification of risks.

Below, we highlight four educational strategies for preventing incidents and adverse events:

1. Education as a pillar of patient safety
Several trials indicate that healthcare failures, many of them preventable, are associated with deficiencies in knowledge and technical and behavioral skills, as well as weaknesses in organizational processes. In this context, continuing professional education plays a strategic role by:

  • Standardizing procedures and reducing unwanted variability in care;
  • Encouraging evidence-based practices;
  • Strengthening the safety culture and encouraging proactive attitudes towards risks.

Well-structured educational programs broaden professionals’ understanding of patient safety principles, such as the importance of effective communication, accurate patient identification, prescribing safe medication, appropriate use of medical devices, and prevention of healthcare-associated infections.

Thus, properly trained professionals tend to identify risk situations early, act collaboratively and implement corrective measures before harm occurs to the patient.

2. The direct impact on incident management
Professional qualifications have a direct and measurable impact on the quality of incident management, from notification to the implementation of corrective actions. Among the main benefits, the following stand out:

  • Greater adherence to notification: by understanding the importance of reporting all types of incidents, including near misses and no-harm events, professionals begin to contribute to an environment of trust, increasing visibility into the real risks of care;
  • Better quality of recorded information: specific training on proper completion, use of objective language, and correct categorization of events results in more consistent and qualified databases for analysis and decision-making;
  • More effective and participatory analysis: qualified teams actively participate in event investigation committees, using tools such as the Ishikawa Diagram, 5 Whys, Bow-tie, and London Protocol, and proposing viable solutions with greater precision and engagement;
  • Most effective corrective actions: structured investigations conducted by qualified professionals generate evidence-based interventions, focusing on process improvement and risk mitigation — and not just on palliative or repetitive actions.

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