D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 4 1
Empowered or engaged?
There's a slight, but important, difference between staff who are
empowered to protect patients and those who are engaged in doing
so. When staff are empowered, they take responsibility for providing a
safe environment for their patients and fellow caregivers. They are
charged with making change happen. Engaged employees, on the
other hand, have an emotional commitment to improving patient safe-
ty. They truly believe in their role as a patient advocate and are fully
invested in making sure the team performs surgery as safely as possi-
ble. Surveying your staff will clue you in as to whether your facility is
filled with empowered employees or engaged caregivers.
OSM
Ms. Norling (knorling@uspi.com) is the administrator of the Northwest
Ambulatory Surgery Center in Portland, Ore.
