How does a health care leader establish a culture of patient safety?
Generate recommendations for process improvement and organizational fitness for a selected organization in the form of a 6-8 page proposal that is targeted for its management team.
INTRODUCTION
Note: The assessments in this course build upon each other, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them in a sequence.
Health care leaders function within a complex, high-risk environment where errors can lead to injury and death. The goal of any health care leader is to assess and manage risk, while concurrently promoting a culture of patient safety.
Patient safety is the cornerstone of high-quality care.
Youngberg (2011) addresses the need for leaders to create a systemic mindfulness of patient safety within the high-risk health care delivery environment. Further, the author discusses high-reliability organizations, which attain next to zero error rates, despite a great propensity for error or catastrophic events.
Read further in the Assessment 5 Context [PDF] document, which contains important information on the following topics related to change leadership, risk management, and patient safety:
- Themes for Success in Leadership.
- The National Patient Safety Goals and Strategic Direction.
- Personal Reflection.
- Ethical Leadership.
- Professional Communication.
As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as a part of your assessment.
- How does a health care leader establish a culture of patient safety?
- How are risks to patient safety assessed and managed in your current or future work setting?
- What are the other types of risks that are assessed and managed?
- What are the important factors that need to be monitored in your selected work setting?
- How can you contribute to risk management and patient safety within your job?
Imagine that you are the new CEO of your organization, and are charged with transforming the previous status quo to an efficient, high-performing accountable care organization.
- Which tools would you put to work in your new position?
- What types of individuals would be needed for your executive leadership team?
- What competencies might be important to the team members?
- What processes, structural models, or frameworks from this course might help you as a transformational leader?
Reference
Youngberg, B. J. (2011). Principles of risk management and patient safety. Jones and Bartlett.
