September safety behavior: ‘Offer and accept cross checks’

If you have ever written a paper, an email or some other important document and asked someone to proof it, you’re already familiar with the September safety behavior: “Offer and accept cross checks.”

“The cross check gets another set of eyes to review our work, allowing them to identify mistakes we have made, so we are able to fix them,” said Becky Pomrenke, M.S.N., RN, CNL, CNS, patient safety manager for USA Health. “In healthcare, this safety behavior reminds us to watch out for each other, check each other’s work, and be willing to be checked.”

It is estimated that, for every 1,000 actions we take, we make one mistake, especially when this involves skill-based actions. Examples of repetitive skill-based actions include driving a car or brushing your teeth, Pomrenke said. “We average about 10,000 skill-based performances a day, so we will be making mistakes doing these routine tasks.”

The September safety behavior encourages us to:

• Offer to check the work of others.
• Point out safety or service conditions your team member might have missed.
• Point out unintended slips and lapses.
• Say, “Thanks for the cross check!”

“The bottom line is that we are better together,” Pomrenke said.

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.