May’s safety behavior: Decide with SORT
SORT stands for statement, options, rule out, and take action and test.
As part of our Safety Starts with Me initiative, USA Health is introducing a safety behavior and tool of the month to be discussed and practiced at huddles and in departments across the health system.
May’s safety behavior and tool is “Decide with SORT.”
“When we are faced with a problem to solve in a new or unusual situation, we can use the acronym SORT to work through the process,” said Becky Pomrenke, M.S.N., R.N., patient safety manager for USA Health. “This tool can help us to think critically and determine a course of action.”
SORT stands for:
Statement: What is the problem? What are we trying to achieve?
Options: What are the possible solutions?
Rule out: Triage by eliminating the improbable or impractical based on facts, and then select the best option.
Take action and test: Implement the selected option and check to see if desired results were achieved.
Pomrenke offered an everyday example of using SORT. Imagine heading out to work but discovering that your car won’t start.
“You think it’s the battery, but who do you call to jump off your car? If it is the battery, where do you take your car to get a new battery installed?” she said. “If it isn’t the battery, where do you get your car towed? How do you get to work? We use SORT in these types of scenarios to problem-solve.”
