We’d like to think that robust safety cultures are so common in health care organizations today, everyone is comfortable pointing out missteps and discrepancies to their colleagues and even getting better at bringing them to the attention of their supervisors. Not so fast.

 

Consider this scenario: A patient is being discharged from the hospital and you, a staff person, notice that the discharge nurse has been called away from the bedside and left the patient’s chart on a table where anyone can view it. Here’s another one: You observe a doctor not washing her hands before entering a patient’s room. And, there’s this: You spot the same equipment, a monitor, in a hospital hallway for several weeks in a row. There’s no note on it, and you and your colleagues, who also notice the machine, never inquire if there’s something wrong with it or why it’s been sitting there for so long.

 

So, what do these situations have in common? Well, in each there’s an opportunity to speak up, or speak to someone about behavior or a situation that’s problematic, especially where patient safety is concerned, and you don’t. How come?

That's what we looked into on the November 17 WIHI: How to Speak Up for Safety.