Director of Patient Safety

Skills at this level

Patient safety data analytics

— Analyzes incident reports, near misses, and safety event data using statistical processes, control charts, and databases to surface emerging trends and prioritize areas for patient harm reduction.

Root cause analysis methodology

— Applies system-level thinking and structured RCA techniques (including PRISMA) to serious reportable events, isolating causal factors and translating them into corrective action plans.

Serious reportable event investigation

— Conducts and coordinates credible investigations of serious patient safety events, gathering clinical facts and evidence and driving findings through to assigned, tracked action plans.

Regulatory patient safety compliance

— Maintains compliance with patient safety requirements and completes mandatory reporting to local, state, and federal agencies, and coordinates response to standards such as JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals.

Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP)

— Deploys and sustains unit-based safety programs across clinical areas in alignment with national and international standards to embed frontline safety practice.

Quality improvement and safety science

— Uses recognized quality improvement, safety science, and risk mitigation methods to identify process gaps and help departments implement strategies that increase delivery of safe patient care.

Safety culture measurement

— Assesses organizational safety climate using instruments such as the Patient Measure of Organisational Safety (PMOS) and safety ladder to set and monitor harm-reduction and culture targets.

Facilitation and safety training

— Facilitates process improvement teams and safety meetings and delivers training that raises patient safety awareness, tests employee knowledge, and fosters a culture of safety across multidisciplinary teams.

Clinical knowledge

— Applies clinical grounding to interpret patient safety events, judge severity, and evaluate the credibility and clinical relevance of investigation findings.

Patient safety program leadership

— Plans, develops, implements, and monitors a hospital-wide patient safety program, setting annual safety goals and evaluating the program against internal needs and external requirements.