Finding Your Voice

According to guest editorial author AnneMarie Palatnick in Nursing 2018 Critical Care – “Ineffective communication is one of the most frequently identified root causes of sentinel events and contributes to the 400,000 deaths that occur each year due to preventable medical errors.” Ineffective communication includes failure of staff to speak up when they know something is wrong that could potentially cause harm to the patient.

While it might seem like speaking up to prevent harm is easy, it is not. Only 49% of the 447,584 respondents to the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture felt free to question the decisions or actions of those with more authority. Further, 65% of those respondents were afraid to ask questions when something did not seem right.

Nurses have reported fear of retaliation, being reprimanded, how others will respond, and appearing incompetent as reasons for not speaking up. Nurses have also reported that they do not feel that anything will change as a result of their intervention.

As a travel nurse with Convergence, speaking up does not have to be so hard.  Remember, as a traveler with Convergence you have a terrific support team to help you navigate any twists and turns you may have in your assignment. Please contact your recruiter or any of the Convergence staff immediately should you see a situation that does not seem right. We will work with you and in your behalf to make sure your voice is heard.

Have a burning question? Email me (Greg).