If you have never seen the 1960s blockbuster old western, The Magnificent Seven, you may want to have a look. The movie is popular in Russia even today. Yes, the lead star, Yul Brynner was Russian, but the story itself carries several messages about values and priorities. These messages may resonate with clinicians and administrators. Like the Seven in the movie who chose to take on a battle for the struggling farmers of a Mexican village, hospital leaders today are developing survival tactics to deal with a very aggressive healthcare marketplace. The top 7 strategic priorities from the … [Read more...]
What Can The Magnificent 7 Teach Us About Hospitals?
If Nurses Could Take Over the World…
What do you think would happen to patient care if nurses took over the world? I suggest this question should be the headline for Nurses Week because, as a nation, we are missing the point about improving healthcare. Words like patient engagement are tossed around freely without an understanding of what it really means to “engage” a patient. Well, nurses do know what it means and there are three million RNs in the US who can lay claim to a long history of significant contributions to improving health because nurses have always engaged patients. This is Nurses Week and it offers an … [Read more...]
Choosing Engagement
This week lay and professional press will focus on a growing national collaborative of medical societies engaged in an information campaign for consumers. Choosing Wisely® wants patients and care providers to engage in discussion on the evidence for commonly used tests and procedures. Risk, harm and necessity are central to this conversation and a path forward for better understanding about commonly held beliefs. Forks in the Road This is not an easy path. In fact there are three forks in the road that make the journey to greater understanding a significant challenge. They are: Ritual … [Read more...]
In the Forest of Safety and Engagement
Are you in a hospital leadership position? Whether you are in the C-Suite or managing 24/7 care on a clinical unit you understand the challenge in maintaining focus and finding balance in today’s chaotic environment. It’s Like a Mountain Hike If you have ever hiked in the Rockies you know that a trail map and good compass are very helpful. In fact, they are essential if you plan to return home someday. Forests are amazing, rejuvenating and inspirational because there is so much variety in the nature around you. It is easy to become absorbed in your immediate surrounding but what happens … [Read more...]
What The Friendly Skies Can Teach Us About Patient Safety
If you fly, you recognize these words… “Ladies and Gentlemen we would appreciate your attention as we explain the safety features of this aircraft.” The approach varies slightly by airline but basic information about air turbulence and the importance of wearing your seat belts, the location of emergency exits, and how to use oxygen masks is spelled out in simple language. For those of us who fly often this safety briefing seems humdrum, and can lead us to a complacent attitude about the role we might assume if there is an in-flight emergency. It could be a fatal mistake if we have not … [Read more...]
Passing the Baton – Hospital Handoffs
Just another initiative? Did you run track in high school or college? If so, there is a chance you were in a relay. Relays required skill not just in running but also in the method of transferring the next leg of the race to a teammate. You learned to pass the baton. If you dropped the baton the consequences were obvious and immediate. Handoffs have become another initiative in hospitals. Taking a cue from sports, hospitals and professional organizations are launching handoff strategies in various clinical areas. Just as an athlete transfers responsibility for the next leg of the race when … [Read more...]
Clinicians as Pathfinders….Lessons from the Past
Pathfinders are urgently needed! Flashback to 1914 and glimpse a slice of history that brings perspective to clinical leadership today. Let’s see what we can take away from a quick journey in time. Consider the Landscape One hundred years ago, it was early in the Great War, a time when everyone believed the war would be short-lived, and they would be returning to a world as they knew it. The brutal reality began to unfold daily, until more than five million people died. By the war’s end, 13 million people had been wounded. Despite the incomprehensible agony and chaos of WWI, there were … [Read more...]
No Man is an Island…Analogy for Safety
It is devastating when we make a mistake that causes harm while caring for patients. Clinicians are human and humans make mistakes. This is the very big “elephant in the room” of Patient Safety. Stories about these errors, and infections are often heart wrenching. Some clinicians who were so devastated by a mistake have left their practice. Patients talk about these issues and share their stories more than ever. The Walking Gallery uses art to bridge the gap between patients’ experiences and the industry that cares for them. We can learn from every story. Poetry as a Teacher I am reminded … [Read more...]
HCAHPS… Not Like Amazon!
You understand the limitations of the HCAHPS survey if you work in a hospital today. Whether a busy clinician or clinical leader, you will appreciate having access to a new study about the limitation of quantitative measures alone in analysis of patients’ experience with their hospital care. Two take-a-ways from this study Patient comments enhanced the numerical results of the survey Patients who provided negative comments gave significantly lower numerical scores The Journal of Healthcare Management recent article gives credibility to the importance of qualitative feedback from … [Read more...]
Engaging Patients: Back to the Future
One thing is clear in the chorus of words about patient care today, there is no consensus on a definition for patient engagement. I suggest we are missing something very important because we have a historical precedent for patient involvement in their care that led to positive change. In fact it was patients who became a very powerful force for change because they read, they attended classes and they understood they should be partners in the way they received care. They were engaged. In the 1970s, childbirth education surfaced to help women learn about the normal processes of labor and … [Read more...]