How Sociotechnical Systems Can Transform Surgical Safety and Well-Being with Dr. Abigail Wooldridge

Episode details: In healthcare, patient safety and clinician well-being are often approached as individual responsibilities. But what if many of the problems we face are actually shaped by the systems in which we work? About Our Guest: Dr. Abigail Wooldridge is a human factors and ergonomics researcher whose work focuses on sociotechnical systems, team performance, and improving outcomes in healthcare. In this episode, we explore what sociotechnical systems are and why understanding the interaction between people, technology, physical environments, teamwork, and organizational structures is so important to healthcare safety. Whether you're a surgeon, healthcare professional, researcher, trainee, or healthcare leader, this episode offers a practical introduction to sociotechnical systems and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in creating safer, more effective healthcare environments. In this episode, you'll learn: What sociotechnical systems are and why they matter in healthcare. How human factors and ergonomics can address both patient safety and clinician well-being. How people, technology, physical environments, and organizational structures interact to shape healthcare outcomes. What Dr. Wooldridge's research on maternal hemorrhage revealed about barriers and facilitators within clinical systems. How issues such as surgical lighting, alarm fatigue, team coordination, and role ambiguity can affect care. Why burnout can be influenced by workload, task demands, and insufficient resources. Why improving healthcare systems requires interdisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and human factors researchers. How clinicians and trainees can begin exploring human factors, ergonomics, and sociotechnical systems research. Resources You can reach Dr. Abigail Wooldridge via: LinkedIn:   / abigailwooldridge   University profile/email: https://ise.illinois.edu/directory/pr... Publication discussed in this episode:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40077...