January safety behavior: Validate and verify
Each month, USA Health focuses on a safety behavior and tool to discuss and practice at huddles and in our departments.
Fostering a culture of safety requires us to think about the choices we make, the things we see and the things we are asked to do. One way to accomplish this is to “validate and verify,” which is the safety tool and behavior for the month of January.
“We want to encourage everyone to have a questioning attitude,” said Becky Pomrenke, MSN, RN, CNL, CNS, director of patient safety for USA Health. “When approached with a situation, ask yourself, ‘Does this make sense to me?’ That’s using your internal detector. If it doesn’t make sense, check it out with an independent, qualified source.”
The source could be a patient, a technology source, another professional, procedures and references or medical record documentation.
Pomrenke said that it’s important to validate and verify in every high-risk situation. “This includes any time your ‘internal detector’ goes off or when there is a change in the patient’s condition or plan of care,” she said. “It only takes a second.”
The safety behavior of the month, part of USA Health’s Safety Starts with Me initiative, is discussed and practiced at huddles and in departments across the health system.
