January’s safety behavior: Validate and Verify
This month’s safety behavior is part of the universal skill “Think Critically.”
If your inner voice tells you that a situation doesn’t make sense, it’s wise to pause and check things out.
The safety behavior for January, “Validate and Verify,” helps us validate information by listening to our internal detector and verify information by checking with an independent, qualified source.
“We want to encourage everyone to have a questioning attitude,” said Becky Pomrenke, M.S.N., RN, CNL, CNS, patient safety manager for USA Health. “When approached with a situation, ask yourself, ‘Does this make sense to me?’ That’s using your internal detector. If it doesn’t make sense, check it out with an independent, qualified source.”
The source could be a patient, a technology source, another professional, procedures and references, or medical record documentation.
Pomrenke said it’s important to validate and verify in every high-risk situation. “This includes any time your internal detector goes off or when there is a change in the patient’s condition or plan of care,” she said. “It only takes a second.”
The safety behavior of the month, part of USA Health’s Safety Starts With Me initiative, is discussed and practiced at huddles and in departments across the health system.
