Root Cause Analysis: Education Reform Needed

It’s not easy. Sure. But it must be done.

Somehow. Some way.

Three topics emerged as important patient safety concepts during the first two days in Marseille: (1) Communication; (2) Teamwork; and, (3) Root Cause Analysis.

Of course, teamwork relies on effective communication, so the two are intertwined. In clinical medicine, doctors and nurses communicate constantly as part of patient care teams. However, many patient safety issues arise from poor communication and the resulting ineffective teamwork between doctors and nurses. Why do doctors and nurses communicate poorly? In part, this barrier to teamwork begins during medical and nursing training. Nurses and doctors start training in silos during nursing school and medical school. Social psychology research shows that separating any group of people creates cultural barriers spontaneously, needlessly. This dynamic plays out in healthcare: our clinicians train in isolation and then are expected to work together cohesively as clinicians during their… Continue reading →