Patient Safety Officer

Patient Safety Officer

Work Arrangement : On-Site Requisition Number : 262714 Regular or Temporary : Regular Location :

Durham, NC, US, 27710

Personnel Area : DUKE REGIONAL HOSPITAL Date : Nov 26, 2025

At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

About Duke Regional Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke Regional Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. With 388 beds it is the second largest of Duke Health's four hospitals and offers a comprehensive range ofmedical, surgical, and diagnostic services, including orthopedics, weight-loss surgery, women's services, and heart and vascular services.

Duke Nursing Highlights :

• Duke University Health System is designated as a Magnet organization
• Nurses from each hospital are consistently recognized each year as North Carolina's Great 100 Nurses.
• Duke University Health System was awarded the American Board of Nursing Specialties Award for Nursing Certification Advocacy for being strong advocates of specialty nursing certification.
• Duke University Health System has 6000 + registered nurses
• Quality of Life : Living in the Triangle!
• Relocation Assistance (based on eligibility)

Duke Regional Hospital seeks to hire a  Patient Safety Officer who will embrace our mission of Advancing Health Together!

Job Overview

Duke Regional Hospital (DRH) seeks a Patient Safety Officer (PSO) to join the Patient Safety team to support implementation of patient safety science, practices and system-driven plans for patient safety across the organization. The Patient Safety Officer will be responsible for coordinating activities and deployment of patient safety actions / methods and intervening on safety events, risks or threats, as assigned. In addition, they will assist in support of organizational patient safety and quality initiatives, support and attend related committees, lead training and educational activities, and support the assessment and advancement of the culture of safety. The individual will assist in managing data, identifying trends, and advocating for advancement of patient safety.

The PSO will primarily utilize a variety of proactive and retrospective patient safety tools and methods including Root Cause Analysis, Learning from Defects, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, human factors analysis, and trend and pattern recognition utilizing a variety of safety signals. In addition to specialized patient safety and quality improvement knowledge, the PSO will need to demonstrate strong soft skills to be able to read the environment as well as build trust and collaborative relationships with team members across the organization.

Job Duties

Facilitates the implementation of the organization's patient safety plan in alignment with the Duke Health and Duke Regional Hospital objectives.

Collaborates with physician, nurse, and other clinical and non-clinical leaders, including quality and Lean champions, to influence leadership in the transformation to, and support of, a robust culture of safety.

Facilitates sentinel event response and ensures thorough and credible root cause analysis approach following standard methodology.

Conducts and coaches others in proactive analysis to identify trends and patterns or gaps in systems and processes related to all aspects of care delivery, patient and staff safety.

Promotes learning culture through multi-faceted system to share.

Contributes to development of patient safety, culture and teamwork training content, documents, materials, and courses. Provides training and coaching to all levels of the organization.

Serves as a facilitator and change agent with ability to navigate challenging situations and complex issues with an objective approach employing humble inquiry and leadership skills.

Practices skills of open-ended questioning, attentive listening, recognizing sound PDCA problem solving and A3 thinking in alignment with the Duke Quality System.

Coaches others and facilitates the development of action plans and mechanisms to monitor and analyze effectiveness of improvement efforts

Supports project management activities and / or works with project managers on project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closeout.

Performs other related duties, administrative or otherwise, incidental to the work described herein.

Minimum Qualifications

Education :

Bachelor’s degree in a health-related or business field is required. Masters' Degree Preferred.

Experience :

Minimum of 5 years clinical or healthcare work experience, including 3 years of experience with significant responsibility for performance / process improvement.

Experience can be supplemented with Master's degree with a Masters being equivalent to two years of experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Nursing or other direct clinical care experience

Experience in hospital setting

Lean, Six Sigma or Performance Improvement experience

Project management experience

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities :

Effective written and verbal communication skills including presentation and teaching skills

Ability to communicate with customers / staff with diverse backgrounds

Analysis of data and processes for opportunities for improvement

Ability to manage numerous diverse projects simultaneously through effective priority setting, efficient use of time, organization

Knowledge of accreditation standards and regulations related to health care

Attention to detail and accuracy

Computer literacy

Preferred Qualifications

Experience and demonstrated skill with using the teaching method of asking questions for self-discovery

Strong facilitation skills

Clear and concise written and verbal communication skills

Expert knowledge of patient safety science, principles and tools as would be gained from certification from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS)) and / or from the National Association for Healthcare Quality (Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ))

Ability to manage multiple projects

Change Management Skills : stakeholder analysis, communication plans, organizational readiness assessments

Project Management Skills : create project plans and manage multiple parallel deadlines, ability to identify roadblocks proactively and formulate mitigation plans

Distinguishing Characteristics of this Level

N / A

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions :

Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and / or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.

Nearest Major Market : Durham

Nearest Secondary Market : Raleigh