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Are you a hero for patient safety?

Patient Safety Quality Monthly, December 13, 2007

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On December 6, I read a newspaper article about five of the remaining survivors of Pearl Harbor. These men go to the harbor's visitor center almost daily to interact with the people who have come to see what happened there 67 years ago. Most of their colleagues, who represent what has been called the "greatest generation," have passed away.

Individually, none of these men did anything that day that was particularly heroic. Yet they are truly heroes because they were willing to participate in a cause greater than themselves. Their generation was characterized by the sacrifices they were willing to make.

As we reflect back on 2007 and look forward to 2008, I ask the question, Will some day people look back on what we have done to improve patient safety and call us heroes? Clearly, our battle for the safety of our patients may not be as dramatic as defending a harbor or preserving a nation, but the task is large, and the cause is greater than ourselves. It calls for many individuals to do whatever they can to make our healthcare institutions and systems prevent harming those lives that we have been entrusted with. 

How can you be a hero for patient safety? For some, it may be by showing leadership to make safety a core value of your culture. For others it may be adhering to safe practices every day. The hope is that through our individual acts, we will encourage others to participate in this cause. And maybe, sitting in our rocking chairs 20 years from now, our generation of healthcare professionals will be recognized as heroes for our patients because of what we are doing today.

On a personal note, I am turning over the monthly writing of this column to Ken Rohde and Sharon Courage, our experts now heading up the hospital quality and safety aspects of our consulting work at The Greeley Company. I will begin writing a new monthly e-newsletter that focuses on effective peer review...so be on the look out for this in the first quarter of 2008.

Happy Holidays!

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