In this episode of Culture by Design, Tim and Junior discuss the importance of psychological safety in healthcare. They highlight the significant issue of medical errors in the industry and propose creating a culture of rewarded vulnerability to overcome the fear of speaking up. They also discuss the barriers to psychological safety in healthcare and the ultimate impact of psychological safety, which is to improve patient outcomes and reduce preventable medical errors, ultimately saving lives.

The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety offer strategies for measuring and improving the fear of speaking up at all levels of the organization. By prioritizing psychological safety, healthcare leaders can create a better work environment and improve the quality of care for patients.

Important Links and References

World Health Organization. (2017). Global Priorities for Patient Safety Research. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/258881/WHO-IER-PSP-2017.11-eng.pdf?sequence=1

Institute of Medicine. (1999). To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/catalog/9728/to-err-is-human-building-a-safer-health-system

Achieving Physical Safety Through Psychological Safety

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Allegranzi, B., Bagheri Nejad, S., Combescure, C., Graafmans, W., Attar, H., Donaldson, L., & Pittet, D. (2011). Burden of endemic health-care-associated infection in developing countries: systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 377(9761), 228-241. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61458-4

Zimlichman E, Henderson D, Tamir O, et al. Health care-associated infections: a meta-analysis of costs and financial impact on the US health care system. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(22):2039-2046. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.9763