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co-workers instead of running to their managers, use words to communicate
instead of eye rolls or sighs, and create a space where others feel safe to dis-
agree.
• No harm? Really? The reason 440,000 patients die unnecessarily every year
due to medical errors is that healthcare professionals don't have the courage to
reveal their mistakes. The same errors reoccur time and again across the country.
If that many people died at once, the public would be outraged. It would be like
watching the evening news and seeing 3 Boeing 747s crash every day for a year.
• Communication and teamwork matter. Most healthcare professionals are
good people who want to do the right thing, but unfortunately they believe that
"bad stuff just happens" once in a while because they're human. That's not why.
Bad stuff happens because they don't function with a high level of teamwork.
One way to tell if you truly function at the highest possible level of teamwork is if
everyone feels safe to speak the truth. That's often not the case. Recent studies
show that nurses assess a situation and decide if having a tough conversation is
worth the risk of facing personal and professional consequences, and usually
decide that it's not. More nurses need to have the courage to speak up when
something seems amiss.
• Promote healthy communication. Dauntless nurses create a healthy and
productive workplace when they speak up and agree as a team to communicate
professionally and constructively. They don't join in when someone talks about
another person who isn't present and they offer to assist other team members
who are drowning in work. They routinely compliment colleagues, ensure
everyone's opinions are valued and respected, and make it clear that no one
should hesitate to ask a question about something they don't understand.
OSM