PATIENT SAFETY/SERVICEOFFICER

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE

11/2/07

Job summary: Collaborates with the Departmentof Medicine nursing and medicalleadership to promote a patient safety culture and adherence to national clinical standards utilizing the principles and practice of the science of safety. Fosters a clinical environment of service excellence.

The following responsibilities and job functions are representative of the Patient Safety/ServiceOfficer role.

Responsibility

Serves as a patient safety advocate and clinical role model in department.
  • Keeps abreast of changing national standards of clinical practice and safety science literature. Disseminates pertinent safety and specialty related information.
  • Regularly participates in patient safety or administrative walk rounds to keep aware of departmental projects.
  • Presents patient and staff safety concerns in appropriate clinical forums.
  • Participates in and contributes to departmental performance review activities, e.g., Safety Dashboards, annual reports, etc.
  • Role models service excellence in work activities.

Monitors clinical outcomes.
  • Observes processes/practices in clinical settings.
  • Monitors trends inPatient Safety Net reports
  • In conjunction with Assistant Director of Nursing and Vice Chairman of Medicine, performs collaborative reviews of adverse occurrences and near misses. Incorporates findings into educational efforts.
  • Participates in Root Cause Analyses, as deemed appropriate.
  • Coordinates briefing, debriefing and analysis of selected charts with healthcare team members.
  • Assesses the documentation of charts reviewed and provides feedback to clinicians.
  • Provides Executive Council, Safety Committee, and Medical Nursing Performance Improvement Committeedata as requested.
  • Maintains and monitors DOM Safety Dashboard.
  • Monitors data provided by hospital that may indicate employee/faculty risks, e.g., needlesticks, injuries, etc.

Facilitates interdisciplinary education.
  • Participates in interdisciplinary safety and quality forums (need to define)
  • Provides regular patient safety educational programs for staff.
  • Fosters and promotes participation by all clinicians in educational programs.
  • Identifies educational and team training needs based upon trends in Patient Safety Net reports, RCAs, CUSP rounds, etc.
  • Facilitates and supports teamwork-training program for all department members.
  • Participates in dissemination of DOM and hospital safety initiatives beyond local institution (e.g., meeting presentations, publication, etc.)

Implements safety initiatives as directed by departmental committees.
  • Considers safety aspects of new programs, renovations, regulatory requirements, etc.
  • Safety Attitude Survey - Facilitates administration of pre and post intervention Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ).
  • Collaborates with clinical and administrative leadership to deliver SAQ results to participants. Works with clinical and administrative leadership to address themes and issues identified by the SAQ.
  • Other initiatives as identified by theDOM Safety Committee and/or DOM Executive Council.

Fosters service excellence in the department.
  • Aware of current patient satisfaction scores for assigned areas.
  • Applies technicalskills accessing the Press Ganey website for scores, comments, etc. and able to teach this skill to others.
  • Assists nurse managers and clinic managers in service excellence improvement ideas and improvement plans.
  • Provides positive feedback to settings demonstrating service excellence.

Reports to: Terry Nelson, Assistant Director, Medical Nursing