IC 104-2023: Complications - Surgeons' Worst Enemy & Best Teacher-IC 104 - Complications - Surgeons' Worst Enemy & Best Teacher (5/5)

Video Transcription

Yeah, yeah, great point. And I'll reference wrong site surgery. Wrong site surgery, which we all have our systems in place in the hospital.  It has been studied whenever a wrong site surgery happens, somebody in the room knew that it was the wrong extremity and did not speak up. And how tragic is that?  Somebody knew and could have avoided it. And it's because of a culture. And in the world of the airline industry, there used to be a hierarchy where the pilot  was in charge and everyone else in the hierarchy was a little bit, say, afraid to raise issues that may be offensive to the leadership.  Anyway, in the world of piloting now, there's no such thing as that type of hierarchy. Anybody can raise an issue at any time.  If you know about Toyota Lean and Kaizen and these things about process management, anybody in the organization of Toyota on the assembly line can shut down the assembly line  at any time if they see a problem. So what's happened is we've empowered people to be able to speak up.  So my reaction early in my career is if I had somebody who was making a suggestion,  like a rep who is making a suggestion on equipment that they don't even know and it's their equipment, it would get me angry. Like, you don't even know how your own equipment works.  Anyway, now that I'm a little more mature, if somebody brings something up, I will completely entertain it as a principal. Like, let me entertain it for two reasons.  One, they may be right. And two, I want those people to be able to tell me. And if I'm doing something that could have been improved, I say thank you.  And if a circulator ever says something like, hey, do you want to try this? I'm like, I definitely want to try that. It just allows the culture.  So I rarely say no, especially to a circulator that's right in the game with you. Say no if they make a suggestion, like, all over.  At the same time, there has to be a balance because occasionally, you know, you have a medical student who, like, is driving you crazy and you've got to deal with that.

Video Summary

In this video, the speaker discusses the importance of speaking up in the healthcare industry to prevent wrong site surgeries. They highlight that in cases of wrong site surgeries, someone in the room usually knows it's the wrong extremity but fails to speak up due to a culture that discourages open communication. The speaker compares this culture to the outdated hierarchy in the airline industry, emphasizing the need for empowerment and the ability for anyone to raise concerns. They also discuss their own personal growth in accepting and considering suggestions from others, as well as the importance of maintaining a balance in encouraging open communication while managing difficult individuals. No credits were mentioned in the transcript.

Asset Caption

Matthew Tao, MD; Christopher Ahmad, MD; Beth Shubin Stein, MD; Alison Toth, MD

Keywords

speaking up

healthcare industry

wrong site surgeries

open communication

culture change