Evidence and Practical Strategies in Patient Safety with the Use of Medications

Overview

The overall objective of the micro-credential "Evidence and Practical Strategies in Patient Safety with the Use of Medications" is to train community pharmacy professionals to integrate a patient safety culture into their clinical practice, applying scientific evidence, practical strategies, and ethical principles that ensure the safe use of medications, improve the quality of care, and reduce risks associated with pharmacotherapy.

Goals

The overall objective of the micro-credential "Evidence and Practical Strategies in Patient Safety with the Use of Medications" is to train community pharmacy professionals to integrate a patient safety culture into their clinical practice, applying scientific evidence, practical strategies, and ethical principles that ensure the safe use of medications, improve the quality of care, and reduce risks associated with pharmacotherapy.

Specific objectives

Upon completion of the microcredential, students will be able to:

Understanding the relevance of patient safety culture as a key element in quality of care and in improving health outcomes, especially in relation to the use of medications.
Applying patient safety principles to routine clinical practice in community pharmacies, with special attention to the care of polymedicated patients and the prevention of avoidable adverse events.
To value the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and teamwork in creating and maintaining a safe healthcare environment, promoting effective communication among healthcare professionals.
Acquire basic knowledge about adverse reaction reporting systems and health risk analysis, as well as proactive attitudes oriented towards continuous safety improvement.
Identify and apply safe clinical practices associated with the use of medication in health and social care centers and services, based on available scientific evidence.
Integrate ethical reasoning and professional communication strategies into decision-making related to the safe use of medications, fostering a climate of trust and safety for patients and professionals.

Access requirements

To access the microcredential, you will need to:

To hold an official Spanish university degree or another degree issued by a
higher education institution belonging to another Member State of the Area
European Higher Education, attached to the branch of Health Sciences or degrees
related fields directly connected to the healthcare sector, which empowers them to...
access to master's degree programs.
Holding a degree issued by an educational system outside the European Higher Education Area without official recognition or a declaration of equivalence. In these cases, the academic director will submit a report to the Academic Committee, which will authorize or deny admission. Under no circumstances will authorization imply official recognition of the foreign degree, nor its recognition for any purpose other than pursuing postgraduate studies at the ULL.
Hold a technical degree or equivalent and demonstrate experience
minimum of five years of work experience in the pharmaceutical sector, especially in areas
related to community pharmacy, social and healthcare services or public health.
Students must be between 25 and 64 years old on the date the training begins.

Academic program

Contents

Session 1: Introduction to patient safety: taxonomy and conceptual models.
Importance of introducing a safety culture into healthcare systems.

Session 2: The culture of patient safety: repercussions and consequences of non-compliance
Safety. Costs of unsafe medication use. Victims and secondary victims of unsafe medication use. Repercussions for patients and healthcare professionals

Session 3: Health Risk Management Models: notification and analysis of events
Adverse events. Adverse event reporting systems. Proactive analysis: FMEA, Reactive analysis:
ACR.

Session 4: Patient safety with medications: conceptual framework, factors
determinants, improvement strategies.
Elements for improving safety in the pharmacological treatment of the patient.
Evidence and consequences.

Session 5: Patient safety with medicines in the community pharmacy.
General concepts, most common critical points within the community pharmacy,
tools and improvement strategies.

Session 6: Ethical aspects of medicalization and the patient's perspective.
Concept and origin of medicalization. Principles of bioethics and implications in practice
clinic.

Session 7: Inter-level communication and medication reconciliation as elements
clue.
Inter-level reconciliation as a basic element in patient safety and
Communication as a fundamental tool. Medication reconciliation in the
Care transitions. Consistency of information between professionals and between them and
patients.

Methodology and activities

Regarding the way of organizing the training activities to be developed during the delivery of the micro-credential will be:

Theoretical classes: expository, explanatory or demonstration sessions of the contents and knowledge.
Practical classes: sessions of practical application of the content developed in the
theoretical classes, through the resolution of exercises, problems or theoretical-practical assumptions.
Seminars, workshops, or other complementary activities (discussion forums,
simulations…): monographic sessions that encourage participation
students. They are supervised by the subject's teaching staff.
Work: preparation of a study, essay, paper… proposed in the subject, either
individually or in groups following established guidelines.
Independent work: independent and self-regulated activity of the student starting from the
Documentation and guidelines proposed in the subject, preparation of classes and exams, preparation of final reports, internship reports…
Exhibitions, debates and defenses of works and projects: activity through which
Students submit assignments, exercises, projects… based on certain criteria
established, demonstrating sufficiency and maturity in the acquisition of skills
planned.
Tutoring (individual, group…): an activity in which the teaching staff attends to, facilitates and
guides one or more students in the training process.
Assessment: continuous assessment tests and final exams.
Tests may be in-person or virtual, and may be conducted in written or oral form or consist of practical exercises.

Regarding the way to organize the teaching to achieve the objectives set out in the micro-credential, the organizational modality summarized below will be followed:

Lectures/expository method: presentation or explanation by the
faculty.
Seminars: completing exercises, solving problems or practical cases, others.
Individual work: individual preparation of assignments/projects/reports, portfolio…
Group work: group preparation of assignments, projects/reports…
Personal study: preparing for tests, exams…
Assessment: written tests, oral tests, practical tests…
Tutoring: a period of instruction in which teachers and students interact with the
The objective is to review and discuss materials and topics presented in class.
Exhibitions, debates and presentation of works and projects: supervised activities
by the teaching staff.
Active methodologies: cooperative learning, project-based learning, classroom
inverted classroom, service learning, game-based learning, case studies, problem-solving
of problems… They are aimed at making learning a participatory process and are
based on student leadership.

Evaluation criteria

The microcredential will have an evaluation system (ES) based on the following assessment tests:

Observation techniques (records, checklists, attitude scales, etc.): application
of methods to describe and record the manifestations of the behavior of
student body.
Objective tests (true/false, multiple choice, test-type, fill-in-the-blank, ordering, etc.): These are measurement instruments that allow for the evaluation of knowledge, skills, performance, aptitudes, etc. The answers are closed-ended, thus promoting objectivity during the scoring process.
Short answer tests: a type of objective test in which students do not elaborate on their answers and must respond to the specific information requested.
Case studies, exercises and problems: tests in which students must solve, in a reasoned manner, within a certain time, and according to the established criteria, the cases, exercises or problems posed by the teaching staff, with the aim of applying the knowledge acquired.
Attendance, participation or attitude in teaching activities, seminars, tutorials, etc.: monitoring student attendance and participation in teaching activities, carrying out activities during teaching sessions.
Written works, memoirs, internship reports, and projects: a document prepared on a topic or activity carried out, following the instructions established by the teaching staff.
Oral presentation and defense of topics, assignments, etc.: an oral presentation on a topic related to the micro-credential content or on the results of an assignment, exercise, or project, followed by a discussion with the teaching staff. This can be done individually or in a group.
Portfolios, journals, notebooks, or practice materials, etc.: a compilation of student work that demonstrates their progress and achievements. This compilation also serves as evidence of self-reflection.

General information

Credits: 3 ECTS

Duration: 11/05/26-22/05/2026

Teaching modality: Virtual

Location: Virtual Classroom

Registration fee: €69.30

Valued at: €231

Registration

More info and registration help

The cost of tuition for this Microcredential will be subsidized by the 'Plan for the development of university microcredentials', investment 6 of component 21 of the Addendum to the 'Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan', financed by the European Union – Next Generation EU, year 2025.