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FMEAProfessional·Quality & Accreditation

Risk Assessment with FMEA: Preventing Failure Before It Happens

Analyse a process for failure points before a patient is harmed by one.

Risk Assessment with FMEA: Preventing Failure Before It Happens

Program overview

Failure mode and effects analysis is the main prospective safety tool in healthcare — it examines a process for what could go wrong rather than waiting for something to. This course takes you through a complete FMEA: assembling the right team, mapping the process in sufficient detail, identifying failure modes at each step, scoring severity, occurrence and detectability, calculating and sensibly interpreting risk priority numbers, and converting the analysis into actions that change the process. It also covers the limits of FMEA and where a different tool serves better.

Why this program

A complete worked FMEA, start to finish

Honest about scoring subjectivity and RPN limits

Focused on producing actions, not scores

Includes when not to use FMEA

Who it is for

Quality OfficerNursePhysicianPharmacistHealthcare ManagerAllied Health

Program objectives

  • Explain when prospective risk analysis is preferable to retrospective investigation
  • Assemble an appropriate multidisciplinary FMEA team
  • Map a clinical process to the level of detail FMEA requires
  • Identify failure modes, causes and effects at each process step
  • Score severity, occurrence and detectability defensibly
  • Convert an FMEA into prioritised, owned process changes

Learning outcomes

  • Identify failure modes for each step of a described clinical process
  • Apply severity, occurrence and detectability scoring to a failure mode
  • Calculate and interpret a risk priority number
  • Differentiate failure mode, cause and effect
  • Prioritise identified risks for action using the effectiveness hierarchy
  • Evaluate whether FMEA is the appropriate tool for a stated problem

Curriculum

Module 1: Prospective Versus Retrospective

1 lessons
  • Prospective Versus RetrospectivePreview

    Why waiting for harm is a poor risk strategy.

Module 2: Scoping and Team

1 lessons
  • Scoping and Team

Module 3: Mapping to the Right Detail

1 lessons
  • Mapping to the Right Detail

Module 4: Failure Modes, Causes and Effects

1 lessons
  • Failure Modes, Causes and Effects

Module 5: Scoring and Prioritising

1 lessons
  • Scoring and Prioritising

Module 6: From Analysis to Change

1 lessons
  • From Analysis to Change

Duration and structure

3h
Total study hours
2.5h
Content
0.5h
Assessment

6 lessons across 6 modules. Duration is expressed in study hours.

What you receive

Verifiable AIHCM digital certificate

This certificate confirms completion of Risk Assessment with FMEA: Preventing Failure Before It Happens. Duration is expressed in study hours.

Delivery format

  • Self-paced — start any time.
  • Study on any device.
  • Lifetime access to the version you enrolled in.

Program handbook

Open the program handbook (print / save as PDF)