12/02/2012 7:26 pm | Healthcare | 0 Comments
Healthcare working well..
To say I was nervous about my Rotator Cuff surgery was a bit of an understatement, actually a massive understatement. My last surgery was a Swiss Cheese incident – the James T. Reason kind of Swiss Cheese – a series of untoward events related to multiple levels of failures. In my case, the failures were related to all four of Reason’s levels of failure: organizational influences, unsafe supervision, preconditions for unsafe acts, and the unsafe acts themselves.
Perneger BMC Health Services Research 2005 5:71 doi:10.1186/1472-6963-5-71
Given my concern, the surgeon ordered an anesthesia consult. During the consult, we devised together a plan of action based on my past reactions and current concerns. I also shared with the nursing staff some of my fear based on past experience and the shared care plan we had developed. Several members of my family were with me (one a nurse) and all were aware of the shared plan and committed to seeing it implemented. Things went smoothly and my outcome was a successful surgery with no-complications. My story gets even better … when I started rehabilitation my Physical Therapist led me in the development of a shared care plan complete with staged goals. He was-and is-an amazing example of true partnership in care.
Healthcare working well….. a gift.

