Safety
S
1 5 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 1 7
Understanding
why your staff
refuses to use sur-
gical safety check-
lists will help you
address their con-
cerns and increase
compliance. Check
out these common
reasons for the
lack of widespread
use of checklists
and zero in on correcting the ones that you've seen in your facility.
• Staff resistance. This is the No. 1 barrier to overcome. Your
staff might not understand why the checklist was developed and,
because it appears to be a basic tool, might incorrectly assume
that little training is needed to master its use. Surgical team
members who don't buy into the training that's needed to opti-
mize the checklist will be unfamiliar with how to execute it prop-
erly and consistently.
• Lack of buy-in. Staff members who aren't involved in planning
for the implementation of the checklist won't have a sense of
ownership in ensuring a successful rollout. Without staff buy-in,
team members may use the checklist as a simple checkbox task,
instead of as a useful communication guide.
• Redundancy. Staff will likely hesitate to use checklists that
require nurses and anesthesia providers to verify the same thing,
Reasons for Checklist Pushback
• CULTURE OF ARROGANCE Those who resist using a safety checklist might complain
about the length of the checklist or argue that everyone is highly trained and doesn't need
a checklist to aid them in their work.
UNDERLYING ISSUES