Through The eyes of The Workforce - National Patient Safety ...

THROUGH THE EYES OF THE WORKFORCECreating Joy, Meaning, and Safer Health CareWhat Can Be DoneDespite the troubling data, there are US health care organizations in which the valuesof respect, teamwork, and transparency are prized, and in which health care providersoperate freer from injury and experience their work as more meaningful. These institutionscan serve as models for others wishing to improve. There is also a growingbody of research that suggests how organizations may improve patient safety throughincreasing employee safety and restoring joy and meaning to the workforce.Recent evidence supports the hypothesis that physician empathy is an important factorassociated with clinical competence and patient outcomes. Some health care organizationshave begun to provide psychologically safe environments for physicians tosupport one another in addressing the emotional tolls of their work, particularly whenthey make mistakes. 53,54An environment of mutual respect is critical for the workforce to find joy and meaningin work. Studies have shown the critical importance of teamwork in safe practice,and teamwork is impossible in the absence of respect. 41,55 Failure of doctors or nursesto follow safe practices (hand hygiene, time outs, etc.) is a manifestation of lack ofrespect (for experts, authority, institutional aims) and is clearly hazardous.Correlations exist between patient safety cultures and patient assessments of care asestablished by comparison of results from the Agency for Healthcare Research andQuality’s Survey on Patient Safety Culture (SOPS) and the Consumer Assessment ofHealthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospital Survey. 56 Both federal agenciesand private foundations are heeding this wake-up call by supporting research tostrengthen providers’ work environments in order to improve patient safety. 57 What can be donE • 13