The truth is, patients and systems are indeed complex, unpredictable, unreliable, and noncompliant. The further truth is, the only way to make care safer is for each of us to start with a collective shared mental model that we can make it better—and for each of us to commit to personal accountability for action.
My “I Will”
So, while I really enjoyed Dr. Pronovost’s talk, what I enjoyed even more was reading the section in last month’s edition of The Hospitalist in which about a half dozen hospitalists interviewed after the plenary accepted the challenge of filling in the blank “I will….” A few excerpts:
- “I will let them know that everything is possible…”
- “I will improve healthcare…”
- “[I will] make sure the patient is heard…”
By a simple proclamation of personal accountability, a mere thousand hospitalists attending an annual meeting can collectively and progressively change the safety of healthcare in thousands of hospitals around the country. It starts with thinking we can do it and publicly committing to the journey. Although we are still a relatively new specialty, we have permeated almost every hospital in the country, and we have outpaced the growth of any specialty in the history of modern medicine. We are perfectly poised to be the safety change agents for every hospital system. As Margaret Meade famously said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has….”
So don’t delay. Whether or not you had the good fortune of being inspired at the SHM annual meeting, each of us owes it to our patients to commit to improving the safety of healthcare and paving the future of hospital care. Get out your pen, craft a commitment now, follow through with it, and make hospitals safer tomorrow than they were yesterday.
I will…
Dr. Scheurer is a hospitalist and chief quality officer at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She is physician editor of The Hospitalist. Email her at [email protected].
Reference
- Gallagher TH, Waterman AD, Ebers AG, Fraser VJ, Levinson W. Patients’ and physicians’ attitudes regarding the disclosure of medical errors. JAMA. 2003;289(8):1001-1007.