Human Factors & Non-Technical Skills: Latest NWFRG CPD Webinar Now Available to Watch

North West First Responder Group has hosted the latest session in our growing programme of free Continuing Professional Development (CPD) webinars, welcoming Mark Hellaby ODP to present a session on Human Factors and Non-Technical Skills.

The webinar brought together Community First Responders and others with an interest in pre-hospital and emergency care to explore how human factors can influence our performance, decision-making and ability to work effectively in challenging situations.

Bringing Human Factors into the CFR environment

Mark is a Registered Operating Department Practitioner with a particular interest in patient safety, systems, simulation, cognitive load, human factors and human performance.

He is also a member of the Human Factors Academy at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and a member of the Editorial Advisory Group for Nursing in Critical Care.

Throughout the webinar, Mark brought the subject to life by using scenarios that Community First Responders could realistically encounter while responding to emergency incidents.

The session explored areas including multitasking, Cognitive Load Theory, human performance and non-technical skills, encouraging attendees to consider not only the clinical aspects of an incident, but also what is happening to our ability to process information and make decisions when faced with competing demands.

Using scenarios relevant to the pre-hospital environment allowed attendees to consider how these principles could apply directly to their own practice.

Supporting continued professional development

The webinar forms part of the North West First Responder Group CPD Webinar Series, through which we aim to provide accessible and relevant learning opportunities for Community First Responders and the wider pre-hospital and healthcare community.

Following the session, attendees were invited to provide feedback and reflect on their learning, with CPD attendance certificates being issued to those who attended and completed the feedback process.

We would like to say a huge thank you to Mark for giving up his time to deliver the session and for adapting the content to make it particularly relevant to Community First Responders.

We would also like to thank everyone who attended and contributed questions throughout the evening.

Catch up on the webinar

If you weren't able to join us live, the full Human Factors & Non-Technical Skills webinar is now available to watch through the North West First Responder Group YouTube channel.

▶️ Watch the webinar: https://youtu.be/2mOrvhP6ib0?si=sV9rwj94lR3a9KnU

The recording is available free of charge, and we encourage responders, healthcare professionals, students and anyone with an interest in human factors or pre-hospital care to watch and share the session.

What's coming next?

Planning for our September CPD webinar is currently underway following the cancellation of our originally planned guest speaker. We hope to share further information about September's session as soon as arrangements are confirmed.

Our October webinar is already confirmed, when we will be welcoming Eleanor Croft to deliver:

Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young: Recognition and Prevention

Further information and invitations for the October session will be released over the coming weeks.

Interested in presenting?

As our CPD Webinar Series continues to grow, we're always interested in hearing from clinicians, educators, researchers and other professionals who may be interested in delivering a future session.

If you have an area of expertise that could support the professional development of Community First Responders and the wider pre-hospital community, we'd love to hear from you.

Please get in touch with North West First Responder Group to start a conversation about joining us as a future guest speaker.

We look forward to continuing to develop our CPD programme and bringing more high-quality learning opportunities to responders across the North West and beyond.