ership usually isn't something you're born with. It's something you
learn. Leadership is about sharing a vision and getting people to come
along willingly, not about using authority to compel people to do
things."
Are physicians being the patient safety leaders they should be? Slightly
more than one-third (36%) say they and their fellow physicians always
display strong leadership skills. But only 19% of facility managers agree,
and only 7% of nurses and techs see physicians as consistent, depend-
able leaders.
Half of our physician respondents report that they always take time
before procedures begin to encourage all team members to speak up if
and when they have concerns. But their grades on that score are con-
siderably lower from facility managers (32%) and from nurses and
techs (23%).
"Most physicians display strong leadership skills," says a suburban
Chicago facility manager. "But we have a few who would prefer to
yell and belittle the staff." "Many get on the pity or negative train and
encourage staff to do the same," adds a Dallas nurse.
No hard stop?
In what might be one of the more surprising revelations, more than
one-fourth (26%) of physicians say they don't always conduct or
demand fully engaged time outs before procedures, and almost 40% of
nurses and techs say procedures sometimes commence without a pre-
surgical hard stop.
"The doc tends to blow them off and make light of the time out in
front of the patient," says an east Texas facility manager. Adds a Florida
nurse: "It's done, but often half the staff aren't paying attention. Some
surgeons see it as an annoyance rather than an essential procedure
prior to beginning the surgery."
5 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U N E 2 0 1 6
