Instilling psychological safety in the healthcare workforce is crucial in patient care, leaders have said.
Team psychological safety was coined by Amy Edmondson, according to Harvard Business Review. It is defined as the shared belief that it is OK to share opinions, concerns and questions without fear of repercussions.
Here is how three health systems have addressed it.
Promoting safety day to day
Health systems, like organizations across various industries, implement processes to encourage feedback from employees.
The University of Kansas Health System recognizes a staff member or team each month with "good catch awards" for those who raised a vital concern with a patient, Terry Rusconi, chief culture officer of its Kansas City division, told Becker's.
St. Louis-based Ascension's We've Got Your Back campaign, meanwhile, aims to create an environment where staff members feel empowered to speak up on concerns.
"It's been endorsed throughout the organization, which says to any associate in Ascension, if you raise a safety concern in good faith, we have your back," Richard Fogel, MD, Ascension's chief clinical officer and co-leader of the program, told Becker's. "You will not be embarrassed, you will not be marginalized."
Can it go too far?
One study found that low levels of psychological safety are concerning, but too much can be counterproductive. It could lead to unnecessary risks or not holding individuals accountable, researchers said.
While Renton, Wash.-based Providence has not seen any negative consequences from its psychological safety efforts, it is crucial to balance it with other high reliability principles to avoid potential complacency, Hoda Asmar, MD, the health system's chief clinical officer, told Becker's.
"Psychological safety is not about shirking tough feedback or avoiding challenging conversations," Dr. Asmar said. The goal is to create an environment where honest conversations are the norm, aimed at improving organization performance and patient care outcomes, she said.
'Hard on processes, not people'
Many leaders who promote team psychological safety choose to look at systems that are in place rather than blaming their workforce.
"We are hard on processes, not people. It's built on the assumption that people don't come to work wanting to hurt anybody," Mr. Rusconi said. "They come to work wanting to take great care of people, and when something bad happens, it's a process [issue] most of the time, not a people issue. And you can't fix your processes if people don't feel safe telling you they're broken."