I am a chartered applied psychologist who specialises in investigating and applying organisational, social and cognitive psychology theory in high-hazard work setting (e.g. emergency medicine, oil and gas, aviation).
I am particularly interested in the relationship between organisational psychology, behaviour, and human error in complex industries, and my doctoral and post-doctoral research at the University of Aberdeen investigated the causes of medical error in Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
I retain a strong interest in this domain, and have also researched and consulted on the application of organisational psychology theory in a number of safety-critical industries (e.g. oil and gas, aviation, public transport). My research generally focuses on:
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Patient/industrial safety, human error and accident theory;
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Teamwork and group behaviours;
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Organisational and team leadership;
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Shared cognition and decision-making during complex tasks;
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Organisational/safety culture and employee well-being;
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The development of structured tools for observing behaviour;
I studied psychology (MA, PgDip, and PhD) at the University of Aberdeen's Industrial Psychology Research Centre, before going on to take a post-doctoral fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust in 2008. I have published, presented, and consulted widely on organisational psychology in a variety of industries.
My experiences also go beyond academia, as I have worked in the UK oil and gas industry, alongside being employed as a risk advisor for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
My research focuses on aspects of organisational psychology that contribute to the occurrence of industrial accidents, with investigations having focused on the topics of teamwork, leadership, decision-making, shared cognition, human error, and organisational/safety culture.
Much of my work has been conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU), and I have also researched and consulted for international companies and regulators on the application of organisational psychology theory to improve safety in the oil and gas sector, and the rail, bus and aviation industries.
My research techniques include observations of behaviour in real-life and simulated settings, 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 research tools for investigating organisational psychology and industrial safety in real-life work environments.
Research and consultancy projects have included:
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Survey research investigating perceptions of teamwork and safety in UK ICUs;
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Observations of team behaviours and the measurement of team situation awareness during ICU rounds;
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Identification of key leadership skills required for effectively managing teams during normal and critical events in the ICU;
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Development of a team performance model to explain the influence of teamwork upon patient safety in critical care medicine;
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Investigation of technical and non-technical factors (team communication behaviours, situation, awareness, decision-making, task structures, systems) underlying ICU medical errors;
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Nurses perceptions of the non-technical skills required by surgeons to manage emergencies effectively in the intra-operative environment;
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Design of protocols for analyzing medical errors in the Intensive Care Unit;
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Development of a survey and interview tool for measuring safety climate and culture across the European air traffic control industry;
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Investigation of the relationship between safety culture, company investment in worker well-being, and employee organisational citizenship behaviours on North Sea oil and gas platforms;
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Surveying, benchmarking, and advising on safety culture and climate on oil and gas installations;
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Conducting in-depth job-analyses on the role of offshore installation managers (OIMs) in order to identify organisational barriers to job performance;
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Advising on the development and integration of a human factors behavioural safety system for measuring the non-technical skills (e.g. teamwork, leadership) and safety competencies (e.g. crisis management, performing safety checks) of train drivers.
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Performing cognitive task analyses in order to assess the impact of human factors upon safety in drilling operations;
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Survey research investigating the effects of working patterns on the performance and well being of North Sea offshore helicopter pilots;
Please find below a selection of my publications and conference papers. Click on the hyperlinks to either view an LSE reprint or the original article. Alternatively, e-mail t.w.reader@lse.ac.uk| for a copy of any article.
2011
Reader, T., Flin, R. & Cuthbertson, B. (In Press). Team leadership in the Intensive Care Unit. The perspective of specialists. Critical Care Medicine. (IF = 6.37|)
Reader, T., Flin, R., Mearns, K., & Cuthbertson, B. (In Press). Team situation awareness and the anticipation of patient progress during ICU rounds. BMJ: Quality and Safety. (IF = 2.80)
Reader, T. (Accepted with minor revisions). Learning through high-fidelity simulation in anaesthesia: The role of episodic memory. British Journal of Anaesthesia. (IF = 3.82)
Reader, T., Flin, R. & Cuthbertson, B. (2011). Naturalistic and Team-Based Decision-Making in the Intensive Care Unit. In S Fiore & Harper-Sciarini (Eds.). Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Naturalistic Decision Making, Orlando, FL(pp. 160-166): University of Central Florida.
Reader, T., & Cuthbertson, B. ( Accepted with minor revisions ). Teamwork in the ICU: Learning from the aviation industry. Critical Care . (IF = 4.93)
2009
Reader, T., Flin, R., Mearns, K., & Cuthbertson, B. (2009). Developing a team performance framework for the Intensive Care Unit. |Critical Care Medicine, 35, 1789-1793. (IF = 6.37|)
* (Please see pages 1828-9 of the same issue for an editorial on this article).
Mearns, K., & Reader, T. (2009). Measuring Support for Health in Offshore Environments. Ergonomics and Health Aspects of Work with Computers|, 56, 61-69.
2008
Mearns, K. & Reader, T. (2008). Organisational support and safety outcomes in the Oil and Gas industry: An uninvestigated relationship? Safety Science, 46, 388-397. (IF = 1.46|)
Reader, T., Cuthbertson, B. & Decruyenaere, J. (2008) Burnout in the ICU: Potential consequences for staff and patient wellbeing. Intensive Care Medicine, 34, 4-6. (IF = 5.05|)
Reader, T., Flin, R., & Cuthbertson, B. (2008). Factors affecting team communication in the Intensive Care Unit. In C. Nemeth (Ed.). Improving healthcare team communication: Building on lessons from aviation and aerospace (pp. 117-134): Ashgate.
Reader, T., Flin, R., Mearns, K., & Cuthbertson, B. (2008). Anticipating outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit. The Society of Industrial and Organisational Psychology (SIOP) 23rd Annual Congress, San Francisco, USA.
Reader, T., Flin, R., Mearns, K., & Cuthbertson, B. (2008). Communication and the perceived involvement of team members during the ICU morning round. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Proceedings, 52, 830-34.
2007
Reader, T., Flin, R., Mearns, K., & Cuthbertson, B. (2007). Interdisciplinary communication in the Intensive Care Unit.| British Journal of Anaesthesia, 98, 347-352. (IF = 2.90|)
Reader, T, Flin, R, & Cuthbertson, B. (2007). Communication skills and error in the Intensive Care Unit.| Current Opinions in Critical Care, 13, 732-736. (IF = 2.66|)
Reader, T. (2007). Teamwork and Team Cognition in the Intensive Care Unit. University of Aberdeen. Doctoral Thesis.
Reader, T., Flin, R., & Cuthbertson B. (2007). Teamwork in the Scottish ICU. Scottish Medical Journal,52,49.
2006
Reader, T., Flin, R., Lauche, K., & Cuthbertson, B. (2006). Non-technical skills in the Intensive Care Unit.| British Journal of Anaesthesia, 96, 551-559. (IF = 2.90|)
Reader, T., Flin, R., Mearns, K., & Cuthbertson, B. (2006). Team communication in the Intensive Care Unit. The 19th European Society of Intensive Care Medicine , Barcelona, Spain.
Mearns, K., Hope, L., & Reader, T. (2006). Health and well-being in the offshore environment: The role of organisational support. UK Health and Safety Executive Research Report 376.