A study of more than 6,500 nurses and nurse managers finds that health care professionals make calculated risks daily to not alert their colleagues when a safety tool signals potential harm. According to the study, 60% of health care workers report being in a situation where a safety tool worked and yet, two-thirds failed to effectively speak up and solve the problem.
The study, titled “The Silent Treatment: Why Safety Tools and Checklists Aren’t Enough to Save Lives, was conducted by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, and VitalSmarts. It sought to identify communication barriers that contribute to avoidable medical errors and provide solutions to improve patient outcomes.
The complete findings of the study will be released March 22, 2011.
Source: American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
