Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effect of peer communication on improving the ability of resident physicians to detect potential patient safety problems.Methods Resident physicians were recruited for research from Renmin Hospital, a tertiary care facility affiliated with Wuhan University. Thirty-eight residents volunteered to participate in the program as the experimental group. Residents participated in a simulation demonstrating common potential safety hazards and were asked to independently identify as many hazards as possible. After small group peer discussion, the simulation was repeated. Residents were surveyed before and after the exercise. Paired t-test and chi-squared test were used to compare correct answers before and after peer discussion.Results All of the participators thought that it’s important to qualified patient safety ability for a doctor.The number of patient safety hazards that were detected by residents in the simulation scene,results showed that before peer communication the average detection number of patient safety hazards was 3.18, after peer communication the average detection number of patient safety hazards was 6.50 It could improve the knowledge, confidence and ability of patient safety effectively for residents by peer communication.Conclusions Peer communication can improve residents’ abilities to detect potential patient safety hazards in simulated clinical settings. It is a model of patient safety training worthy of promotion.

Key words: Patient safety, Resident, Simulation, Peer communication, Discussion