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Non-routine work is the norm for many healthcare professionals as well as first responders involved in emergency and disaster management. Since non-routine work calls for rapid decision-making for which information is limited and outcomes are uncertain, it is extremely challenging mentally. While it might seem paradoxical, there is a proven, proactive technique to manage the unexpected. It is called mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a process first identified in high-reliability organizations (HROs). HROs have nearly error-free operations in extremely trying environments. Examples include aircraft carrier flight decks, nuclear power plants and air traffic control. Using mindfulness, these HROs have created a safety culture. While creating a safety culture is an important and challenging goal for all organizations, it is especially true for those organizations in which interdependence and non-routine work are required.
Non-routine work is extremely demanding, because individuals must make rapid decisions in situations complicated by one or more of the following:
Mindfulness is a process that emerged from years of field research by Karl E. Weick, PhD, and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe, PhD. These researchers proved that HROs have in place a "mindful infrastructure" that enables them to effectively manage the unexpected. Mindfulness is a set of five behaviors or practices that, when continually enacted by individuals in the organization, create the "mindful infrastructure" necessary for a safety culture. The focus of this workshop is to teach you these five behaviors, help you develop skill in using the behaviors, and have you leave the workshop with a plan for integrating these practices into your organization. The five practices of mindfulness you will learn to use are:
Patient safety has been recognized as a critical problem in healthcare delivery for more than a decade. In 1999, Donald M. Berwick, MD, FCC, president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, made his classic presentation Escape Fire: Lessons for the Future of Health Care at the 11th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care. This presentation explained the similarities between the work of healthcare professionals and firefighters. It called for healthcare organizations to learn from the Mann Gulch fire, which killed 12 young smokejumpers and a fireguard, forever changing the management of firefighting in the United States. Berwick poignantly appealed to healthcare organizations to drop their Pulaskis (special hand tools used in wildland firefighting) and find new tools and processes to improve the safety of healthcare delivery.
Approaches to addressing patient safety include process, technical, and personnel solutions. Recently, however, increased attention is being given to the significant impact of organizational culture on patient safety. This corresponds to Berwick’s recommendations. Late in 2009, The Joint Commission called for healthcare organizations to define and establish an organization-wide safety culture, integrating lessons learned from high-reliability organizations, such as mindfulness.
First or early emergency responders face double jeopardy when responding to high-risk situations. Not only must they be concerned about the public they serve, they are often in harm’s way themselves. This makes learning how to create a "mindful infrastructure" crucial.
This workshop is designed for healthcare professionals who want to influence high-quality healthcare delivery and systems improvements in hospitals, social services, ambulatory care and community and business organizations; individuals who must respond to disasters, such as fire, law, hospitals, trauma and ER medicine, the military and emergency management personnel; and other leaders from organizations characterized by non-routine work and interdependence among workers.
At the completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:
Commercial vendors are invited to exhibit at this meeting. Limited exhibit space will be available. Call Mary Gambino at 913-588-1695 or e-mail mgambino@kumc.edu for an application or more information.
Co-Sponsored by Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics, Kansas City, Mo.; Liberty Hospital, Liberty, Mo.; North Kansas City Hospital, North Kansas City, Mo.; St. Joseph Medical Center, Kansas City, Mo. & St. Mary’s Medical Center, Blue Springs, Mo.; and The University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan.
Financial contributions and supporters of this program will be acknowledged in print at the symposium.
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