Mise-en-place: patient safety lessons from the kitchen

On the way to the hospital this morning, I heard a report from NPR’s Dan Charnas about mise-en-place, the chef’s philosophy and discipline for organizing and managing a hectic commercial kitchen.  The piece was a great reminder that many of the challenges we face in healthcare are shared by others.  Chefs standardize their procedures, prepare meticulously for each workday, and read back instructions from their colleagues to keep orders straight in the hectic kitchen.  They also “work clean” and practice “clean as you go” to keep their workspaces organized and their food safe.  When something’s not right, the chef “slows down to speed up” by taking time to correct any problems before a dish reaches a customer.  A few weeks after Marseille it was a great reminder that we can get inspiration and motivation for patient safety practices anywhere!