Patient Safety Lessons All Around Us

As the Telluride Patient Safety Summer Camp 2014 Sessions come to a close, we are buoyed by our ever-expanding network of young and enthusiastic health care providers in-training, turning patient safety into a creative science. The Telluride Summer Camp blog continues to receive comments and posts from alumni, and is increasing evidence of a positive healthcare culture on the rise. Mindfulness, a just and learning culture, open and honest communication and patient centered care are all foundational messaging of the Telluride curriculum, and keys to true culture change in healthcare. Colin Flood, an M2 from Rush Medical College in Chicago attended this year’s Telluride East Camp, and recently posted the following reminder that patient safety lessons exist all around us, especially when we are mindful and focused on the end of goal of keeping patients safe.

Thanks, Colin, for continuing the patient safety conversation:

Mise-en-place: patient safety lessons from the kitchen

On the way to the hospital this morning, I heard a report from NPR’s Dan Charnas about mise-en-place, the chef’s philosophy and discipline for organizing and managing a hectic commercial kitchen.  The piece was a great reminder that many of the challenges we face in healthcare are shared by others.  Chefs standardize their procedures, prepare meticulously for each workday, and read back instructions from their colleagues to keep orders straight in the hectic kitchen.  They also “work clean” and practice “clean as you go” to keep their workspaces organized and their food safe.  When something’s not right, the chef “slows down to speed up” by taking time to correct any problems before a dish reaches a customer.  A few weeks after Telluride it was a great reminder that we can get inspiration and motivation for patient safety practices anywhere!

To hear the NPR story, click here.