Curtain Up! Light the lights…on patient safety!

Abstract

ISSUE: Our hospital is a 235-bed community hospital in New York City. Educating all levels of staff has been a challenge due to the perception that safety information is boring and mundane. The standard lecture/discussion method of presentation has resulted in poor participation at educational offerings. It was our intent to use a creative approach to enhance the staff's knowledge base regarding critical patient safety policies. PROJECT: Several comedy sketches were written to include key patient safety errors related to the national patient safety goals and hospital policies for infection control, fire safety, disaster, confidentiality, and ethics. The errors were primarily based on an analysis of test results from the previous year's program. Hospital employees volunteered to be the “actors.” Playbills were distributed that listed the names and departments of the actors along with those who assisted with the event. For 6 weeks prior to the performances, advertising flyers and safety information on the topics to be included at the presentation were distributed to all staff. Department heads were asked to review the information with their staff members. Three performances were held and a videotape was made for future viewing. An “influenza vaccine station” was set up to conveniently vaccinate staff. Volunteers from many departments assisted on the day of the event. Many of the props needed were already available in the hospital, including a stage curtain cleverly constructed from old bed curtains. A construction company provided a loaner of bright “stage” lighting, and the local church offered us of their auditorium for the performances. The program was interactive, with the audience participating to identify errors, which were then discussed. RESULTS: The group of staff members completing the post test for 2004 was different from those doing so the previous year and so direct comparison was not possible. However, it was identified that in 2004, staff showed significant improvement in answering 11 identical questions. Grades for those questions increased from 86% to 94% for clinical staff and 78% to 89% for non-clinical staff. Disaster preparedness, an area of identified weakness, will be a focus for the 2005 program. LESSONS LEARNED: Presenting a creative educational program to adults can be done with only a small budget and a little creativity. Alternative ways to present somewhat dry but vital safety and educational materials can improve participation and learning.