Page 19 - Christiana Care Focus April 2019

| The Christiana Care Way
CRAIG CLAPPER’S FIVE TAKEAWAYS
3. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY
When a sender requests information or gives an order, the receiver should repeat it. If the conversation is over the phone or involves lab orders,
the receiver should write it down and read it back. The sender then confirms or corrects the information.
• Use the NATO phonetic alphabet to reduce ambiguity. For instance, “a” as in “alpha,” or “c” as in “Charlie.” Say the entire number and then each digit. “Fifty as in 5-0.”
• Ask clarifying questions. “People who ask one or two clarifying questions are in the top 10 percent of communicators in health care, and they have two-and-a-half times fewer communication errors,” Clapper said, citing a study.
“People who ask clarifying questions are in the top 10% of communicators in health care.”
• Using SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation) helps clinicians efficiently exchange information. State the situation or problem. Provide background. Assess and analyze. State your recommendation.
4. LEAN ON CHECKLISTS, AND EACH OTHER
Always refer to checklists or flow sheets for infrequently performed, high-risk or complex procedures. Refer back to materials as needed for tasks you perform by memory.
There is safety in numbers. For instance, when identifying a surgical site, all the parties in the room — including the anesthesiologist, scrub nurse and surgeon — must agree. Check each other, he said. Working together as a team is vitally important in health care to reduce errors and improve patient safety.
“We are four times more reliable when we have checklists with us.”
5. VISUALIZE THE GOAL
Using the image of a bonsai tree, Clapper noted that to shape the young tree, you must imagine how it will look in the end.
Daily “huddle teams” must “snip off” processes that aren’t working and let other areas grow. These teams, which discuss everything from nursing concerns to high fall risks, are creating local learning systems focused on safety, quality and experience.
“Harness the team huddle. Put those local learning systems to work, so that excellence can be achievable by everybody every day,” Clapper said. 
“Have every week be patient safety awareness week.”
FOCUS • APRIL 2019 17