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The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has been implemented in healthcare systems around the world. This systematic review and thematic analysis concluded that the surgical safety checklist positively impacts clinical outcomes (surgical outcomes and mortality), process measures, team dynamics, and communication, as well as safety culture. The authors note that the checklist was negatively associated with efficiency and workload; included studies often noted that checklist users felt the checklist slowed down processes within the operating room

Checklists are widely used strategies for error reduction and improved communication. This editorial discusses the limitations of checklists for perioperative safety (i.e., when used in isolation or implemented incorrectly) and suggests that safety initiatives taking a systems-oriented approach and organizational buy-in can lead to both perioperative and general safety improvements.

Physician burnout can negatively impact not only physician well-being, but patient safety as well. This national survey of general surgery residents found that about one-third of all respondents reported experiencing discrimination or abuse; 38.5% of residents reported weekly burnout systems and 4.5% reported suicidal thoughts within the past year. Residents reporting burnout or suicidal thoughts were more likely to have experienced discrimination, abuse or sexual harassment. Women reported more exposure to mistreatment, which may account for gender differences in rates of burnout and suicidal thoughts.  

This survey study of nurses across four ambulatory surgical wards in Ohio found that nursing managers' leadership styles and some aspects of the safety climate (such as teamwork and organizational learning) were associated with how willing nurses are to report medication errors.

This updated policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics reviews the epidemiology of medical errors in children, examines unique issues in safety for pediatric patients, and discusses specific approaches to improving safety in pediatrics. The article emphasizes the responsibility of pediatricians to be familiar with patient safety concepts and techniques, and the importance of establishing a culture of safety in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The article concludes with a series of specific recommendations for advancing the science of patient safety within the field of pediatrics.

Reporting systems, morbidity and mortality conferences, and case review all serve as mechanisms to learn about adverse events and identify opportunities for improvement. However, many of these forums rely on voluntary measures to bring issues to the forefront, leaving many “water cooler” conversations as a lost opportunity for organizational learning. This ethnographic study explores how informal knowledge sharing, the proverbial water cooler conversation, takes place in a staff lounge, a storeroom, and an operating room corridor. The authors found rich information sharing in this context, perhaps fueled by the trusting and mutually desired setting for the exchanges. They advocate for greater attention to capturing and fostering these communications as a potentially important source of hidden advancement in patient safety knowledge and a positive safety culture.

The authors review data on adverse events after outpatient surgical procedures in the state of Florida and discuss efforts to improve the safety culture within the field of plastic surgery.