National Nurses Week & National Hospital Week

A panel of medical experts recently told us that if you want to improve patient safety, you should focus on teamwork and communications first. Failures in teamwork and communications are estimated to be at the root cause of 70% of patient harm,¹  plus the estimated 250,000 lives lost annually in the U.S. due to preventable medical error.²

Simulation is being used across healthcare to address this issue and turn “teams of experts into expert teams.” Some organizations try to achieve the same results solely through didactic learning. Simulation-based learning, however, goes the extra step to make that learning come alive in a setting designed to mimic real clinical encounters and lifelike experiences where teamwork counts.

In situ simulation allows you to practice where you perform, and it is where you can often develop teams best. In situ simulation allows you to conduct simulation in the team’s own care setting using the same staff, protocol, processes and equipment that the team uses every day. It allows teams to review and reinforce their skills and problem-solve, all while identifying hazards and deficiencies in their systems and environment.

In situ simulation promotes training efficiency since it occurs during the actual workday, utilizing staff while they are on duty without the need to backfill or schedule training days. And, it can be conducted with minimal resources and investment beyond what is essential to get the job done.

An estimated 80% of serious medical errors involve a failure in communications during patient hand-offs.³ If a patient is brought to the hospital by EMS, hand-offs clearly occur there. Thereafter, hand-offs occur at every hospital shift change and whenever a patient changes locations. Imagine how many hand-offs occur in a military combat situation. Regardless of the setting, hand-offs are where a patient is highly vulnerable.

Providers who are using in situ simulation to improve hand-offs recognize that in situ simulation means simulation that moves with the patient. Simulation that follows the patient from team to team can break down communications barriers, build better cross-functional understanding, and create shared experiences that can prevent future potential errors from becoming consequential.