PS 101: Lesson 2 Assessment

A medical unit in a hospital is in the midst of hiring some new physicians. During an orientation for new employees, a senior leader stands up and says, "We expect that the same rules apply to everyone on the unit, regardless of position." Which aspect of a culture of safety does this unit seem to value?

Accountability

One hospital CEO insists on including performance data in the hospital's annual report. "We do very well on most measures, except for one or two, but we put those in anyway," she says. "We want to hold ourselves accountable." Does this practice demonstrate effective or ineffective leadership?

Effective leadership: Being transparent, even about poor results, is a mark of a good leader.

At the large multi-specialty clinic in which you work, there have been two near misses and one medical error because various clinicians did not follow up on patient results. Different caregivers were involved each time. When asked why they failed to follow up, each caregiver said he or she forgot. Based on what you know, how would you classify the caregivers' behavior?

Human error

Why is psychological safety a crucial component of a culture of safety?

It allows people to learn from mistakes and near-misses, reducing the chances of further errors.

At the large multi-specialty clinic in which you work, there have been two near misses and one medical error because various clinicians did not follow up on patient results. Different caregivers were involved each time. After the second near miss, the physician involved was asked to leave the clinic. This appears to be an example of which of the following?

Unfair attribution of blame