Patient Safety in Action: The I’M SAFE TeamSTEPPS® Checklist – An Exercise in Openness and Transparency with your Team
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Apr. 14, 2016) -- During a General Quarters training exercise, Sailors assigned to Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford's (CVN 78) medical response team, simulates care and treatment for common injuries. This ship-wide general quarters drill focused on damage control and emergency responses and is a significant step in certifying the crew as they train to fight and take delivery of the ship.(U.S. Navy photo taken by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew R. Fairchild/Released)
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The connection between transparency and high reliability is one that touches many aspects of what we do as Military Health System (MHS) patient safety professionals. We strive to be transparent in the way we share information with our patients – working with them as partners in their care and informing them of what we do openly and visibly. We are also transparent about our MTFs progress towards high reliability so that we can continue marching towards our goal of zero patient harm with efforts such as the Patient Safety Culture Survey. Another way that we, as MHS patient safety professionals, can display transparency on a daily basis is by using tools such as the I’M SAFE TeamSTEPPSTeam Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) is an evidence-based teamwork system designed to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare. TeamSTEPPS consists of a collection of instructions, materials and tools to help drive a successful teamwork initiative from the initial planning to implementation through to sustainment. The system is designed to improve patient safety using a three-phase approach: Phase I Assessment: Facility determines organizational readiness; Phase II Planning, Training & Implementation: Facility “decides what to do” and “makes it happen;” and Phase III Sustainment: Facility spreads the improvements in teamwork performance, clinical processes and outcomes resulting from the TeamSTEPPS initiative.TeamSTEPPS Checklist.
Designed to help us determine our ability to perform safely, the I’M SAFE TeamSTEPPS checklist invites us to take an honest look at how we are performing so that we can create an environment that is safe for ourselves, our team members and our patients.
Not only can we use the I’M SAFE Checklist to assess and be transparent about our own condition but we can also use it to assess our team members’ ability to perform safely. The goal is to ensure that every one on our team is able to perform at the highest level.
As stated on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)’s website, I’M SAFE stands for:
- Illness: Am I feeling so bad that I cannot perform my duties?
- Medication: Is the medication I am taking affecting my ability to maintain situation awareness and perform my duties?
- Stress: Is there something – such as a life event or situation at work – that is detracting from my ability to focus and perform my duties?
- Alcohol/Drugs: Is my use of alcohol or illicit drugs affecting me so that I cannot focus on the performance of my duties?
- Fatigue: Am I tired? The effects of fatigue should not be ignored. Team members should alert the team regarding their state of fatigue. For example, saying “Watch me a little closer today. I only had three hours of sleep last night.”
- Eating and Elimination: Has it been six hours since I have eating or used the restroom? Often, we are focused on taking care of our patients’ basic needs that we forget or overlook taking care of our own needs. Not taking care of our elimination needs affects our ability to concentrate and stress us physiologically.
The I’M SAFE Checklist is one of the many TeamSTEPPS tools we can leverage at our facilities to continue moving towards high reliability and promoting an environment that is characterized by a spirit of mutual support, honesty and transparency.
Access the I’M SAFE Checklist and other TeamSTEPPS and learn more about the MHS's path towards high reliability.
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