This patient safety education and quality improvement course will enable physicians to learn essential knowledge, skills and attitudes about safety that they can then apply to their own clinical environment. This program is intended to provide the foundation for a new culture and new practices through education on various topics required by the ABMS and some additional areas of interest. Modules are comprised of video and slide lectures.

This activity is approved by ABPN as meeting an MOC requirement for a foundational patient safety course. 

Course Agenda

This course is part of the APA’s On Demand Plus series. On Demand Plus courses offer a deeper exploration of material through rich content and enhanced features.  On Demand Plus courses are multi-modular and are typically completed over a longer time period. The course agenda includes: 

• Course Introduction and Disclosure
• Part 1: Key Themes in Patient Safety
• Part 2: Patient Safety and Specific Risk Management Issues in Psychiatry
• Part 3: Case Vignettes

Educational Objectives

Apply essential knowledge, skills and attitudes about safety to a clinical environment

Target Audience

Psychiatrists and clinicians interested in the culture of safety.

Estimated Time to Complete

Estimated Duration: 4 hours
Program Release Date: March 1, 2015
Program Review: March 1, 2021
Program End Date: March 1, 2024

How to Earn Credit

Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ (physicians) or a certificate of participation (non-physicians) may do so by completing all sections of the course including the evaluation. A multiple choice quiz is provided based on the content. There is no passing score required for the quiz, and retakes are available. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate showing the date of completion and hours earned. The credits claimed are automatically recorded in your Learning Center transcript.

Continuing Education Credit

This course fulfills a MOC requirement. Participants in MOC should successfully complete a Board-approved foundational patient safety course or equivalent learning experience prior to, or early in, the diplomate’s participation in the Program for MOC.  APA reports MOC completion data on behalf of our members directly to ABPN, however, diplomates are still required to log on to their ABPN Physician Folios at least once per calendar year to attest to completion of their MOC activities.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

The APA designates this enduring material for a maximum of 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

• Tristan Gorrindo, M.D., Director, Division of Education, American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Avram H. Mack, M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Attending Physician, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Deborah J. Hales, M.D., Former Director, APA Division of Education and Founder and Past Editor of FOCUS, Washington DC. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.
• Kristen Moeller, Director, Continuing Medical Education, American Psychiatric Association, Arlington VA. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Program Reviewer

• Tristan Gorrindo, M.D., Director, Division of Education, American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Technical Requirements

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:

• The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
• Internet Explorer 11+

This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Flash, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.

Optimal System Configuration:

• Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
• Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact learningcenter@psych.org for technical assistance