Reader, Tom


Dr Tom Reader  

Department

Position held

Institute of Social Psychology

Lecturer in Organisational and Social Psychology

Experience keywords:

oil and gas; safety; decision-making; organisational culture; non-technical skills; patient safety; teamwork; team mental models; human error; situation awareness; leadership

Research summary > [Click to expand]

I am an applied psychologist whose main interests are i) investigating and testing organisational, social and cognitive psychology theory in real-life work settings, and ii) assisting practitioners to understand and apply the principles of organisational psychology in high-risk work environments. I conducted my doctoral and post-doctoral research at the University of Aberdeen, and joined the faculty at LSE's Institute of Social Psychology in August 2010. I am particularly interested in understanding how and why organisational accidents occur, and I specialise on the topics of teamwork, leadership, decision-making, shared cognition, human error, industrial safety, and organisational culture. Much of my research has investigated human error and team psychology in intensive care units, and I have also researched and consulted on the application of organisational psychology theory to improve safety in the oil and gas industry, the rail and bus sectors, and air traffic control. My research techniques include live observations of behaviour, on-task measurement of cognition, culture and climate surveys, structured interviews, focus groups, hierarchical task analysis, and root-cause error analysis. I specialise in adapting and developing novel research and practitioner tools for investigating organisational psychology and industrial safety in real-life work environments.

Sectors and industries to which research relates:

EnergyHealthcare

Countries and regions to which research relates:

USA; UK

Contact Points

Publications

The following references are sourced from LSE Research Online|. References that are linked lead to the full text.

2013

Mearns, Kathryn and Kirwan, Barry and Reader, Tom W. and Jackson, Jeanette and Kennedy, Richard and Gordon, Rachael (2013) Corrigendum to ‘development of a methodology for understanding and enhancing safety culture in air traffic management’ [Safety Sci. 53 (2013) 123–133]. Safety science, 57 ISSN 0925-7535

Mearns, Kathryn and Kirwan, Barry and Reader, Tom W. and Jackson, Jeanette and Kennedy, Richard and Gordon, Rachael (2013) Development of a methodology for understanding and enhancing safety culture in Air Traffic Management. Safety science, 53 pp. 123-133. ISSN 0925-7535

2012

Reader, Tom W. and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2012) Challenges in using high-fidelity simulation to improve learning and patient safety. Resuscitation, 83 (11). pp. 1317-1318. ISSN 0300-9572

2011

Reader, Tom W. and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2011) Teamwork and team training in the ICU: where do the similarities with aviation end? Critical care medicine, 15 (6). ISSN 0090-3493

Reader, T. W. (2011) Learning through high-fidelity anaesthetic simulation: the role of episodic memory. British journal of anaesthesia, 107 (4). pp. 483-487. ISSN 0007-0912

O'Connor, P. and Reader, Tom W. and Salas, E. and Yule, S. and Sundt, T. and Musson, D. and Wiegmann, D. (2011) Techniques for improving the performance of healthcare teams: learning from aviation and other HROs. In:55th Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (19-23 September 2011 : Las Vegas, NV, USA).

Reader, Tom W. and Flin, Rhona and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2011) Team leadership in the intensive care unit: the perspective of specialists. Critical care medicine, 39 (7). pp. 1683-1691. ISSN 0090-3493

Reader, Tom W. and Flin, Rhona and Mearns, Kathryn and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2011) Team situation awareness and the anticipation of patient progress during ICU rounds. BMJ Quality & Safety, 20 (12). pp. 1035-1042. ISSN 2044-5415

2009

Mearns, Kathryn and Reader, Tom W. (2009) Measuring support for health in offshore environments. In: Karsh, Ben-Tzion, (ed.) Ergonomics and health aspects of work with computers: proceedings of the International Conference on Ergonomics and Health Aspects of Work with Computers: Held as Part of HCI International 2009. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, pp. 61-69. ISBN 978-3-642-02730-7

Reader, Tom W. and Flin, Rhona and Mearns, Kathryn and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2009) Developing a team performance framework for the intensive care unit. Critical care medicine, 37 (5). pp. 1787-1793. ISSN 0090-3493

2008

Mearns, Kathryn and Reader, Tom W. (2008) Organisational support and safety outcomes in the oil and gas industry: an uninvestigated relationship. Safety science, 46 (3). pp. 388-397. ISSN 0925-7535

Reader, Tom W. and Cuthbertson, Brian H. and Decruyenaere, Johan (2008) Burnout in the ICU: potential consequences for staff and patient well-being. Intensive care medicine, 34 (1). pp. 4-6. ISSN 0342-4642

Reader, Tom W. and Flin, Rhona and Mearns, Kathryn and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2008) Communication and the perceived involvement of team members during the ICU morning round. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society annual meeting proceedings, , 52 (12). pp. 830-834. ISSN 1071-1813

Reader, Tom W. and Flin, Rhona and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2008) Factors affecting team communication in the intensive care unit. In: Nemeth, Christopher P., (ed.) Improving healthcare team communication: building on lessons from aviation and aerospace. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., Aldershot, UK, pp. 117-134. ISBN 9780754670254

2007

Reader, Tom W. and Flin, Rhona and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2007) Communication skills and error in the intensive care unit. Current opinions in critical care, 13 (6). pp. 732-736. ISSN 1070-5295

Reader, Tom W. and Flin, R. and Mearns, Kathryn and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2007) Interdisciplinary communication in the intensive care unit. British journal of anaesthesia, 98 (3). pp. 347-352. ISSN 0007-0912

2006

Reader, Tom W. and Flin, R and Lauche, K. and Cuthbertson, Brian H. (2006) Non-technical skills in the intensive care unit. British journal of anaesthesia, 96 (5). pp. 551-559. ISSN 0007-0912

Mearns, Kathryn and Hope, Lorraine and Reader, Tom W. (2006) Health and well-being in the offshore environment: the role of the organisational support. Health and Safety Executive, London

LSE Research Online is the primary resource for references to publications. For queries or updates please email the LSE Research Online team at lseresearchonline@lse.ac.uk|.

Expert Image

Awards

Leverhulme Fellowship 2008

Short bio >

I am a Chartered Psychologist who studied psychology (MA and PhD) at the University of Aberdeen, before going on to win a post-doctoral fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust in 2008. I am fascinated by the relationship between organisational psychology, human error, and accidents in high-risk industries, and over a number of years have investigated how the social and cognitive skills of healthcare providers influence medical error and patient safety. Alongside my academic research, I have consulted for major companies in the oil and gas (e.g. Shell, Schlumberger, Petrobras) and transport industries (e.g. Eurocontrol, FirstGroup) on the topics of safety culture, risk, and human factors. I also have considerable ‘real-world’ experience outside of academia, as I have previously taught English in a Tibetan Monastery (1997), worked in the oil and gas industry (1998-2000), and acted as a risk advisor for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2009-2010).

 

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