Active Learning Assignment Week 4
APPLYING EI TO CHANGE THE CULTURE OF PATIENT SAFETY
Changing a culture prone to medical error is one of the most difficult obstacles to improving patient safety. In the traditional safety culture, blame and judgment undermine reporting and systems improvement. A “fix-the-problem-not-the-blame” approach is at least articulated if not operationalized in most healthcare organizations.
However, simply identifying risk management and quality improvement as a no-blame system is not enough to change a culture deeply ingrained in healthcare providers. The EIPS model may
offer a way to change the blame culture. For example, in the story presented, several clinical
culture issues predisposed the unit to the error. Using Reason’s model, the culture created holes
that made the flow from error to patient harm more likely, especially with the new employee
orientation to the clinical unit.
EI/Patient Safety (EIPS) Model.
In this model, good communication skills improve EI skills and good EI skills improve
communication. These two skill sets are in a positive feedback loop. If communication skills are
poor, EI abilities can improve them. If communication is poor, safety is compromised, but
as EI ability improves communication, this negative influence is mitigated via EI abilities.
Using the EIPS Model, diagram a patient safety procedure on your unit (I work in a hospital) that
has an emotional or interpersonal “hole” in it. Describe in one paragraph how one EI ability
could be used to ameliorate that hole.
Submit the diagram of the problem from your place of work and the paragraph [it should be 8 to
10 sentences]. Please adhere to APA format- ensure you label your diagram correctly.