One of the barriers to patient safety improvement is nurses' and other staff members' fear of speaking up about patient safety risks.
1. Train staff to speak up. Giving staff and physicians the opportunity to role play and providing feedback can help train providers on speaking up.
2. Establish an escalation policy. An escalation policy delineates who staff should contact to resolve patient safety risks and provide support to those speaking up about the risks.
3. Develop a "no retribution" policy. This policy formalizes an intolerance of retribution against those who speak up about patient safety problems.
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