As I reflect on day 1, I can’t help but think that so many problems in patient safety can be solved if you remember that the person you’re interacting with is another human who should be treated with respect. This goes for both interactions with patients and between providers. Especially when communicating with patients who have lost a family member, if at the very core of our job is to help people, it shouldn’t be that crazy of idea to help someone mentally and emotionally through the grieving process. I realize that I am coming from a point of view with little clinical experience and as we discussed, there are many barriers to this – fear, reputation, litigation, etc. It’s currently not an easy process, obviously shown by the fact that’s it been a long process to make change, but I can’t help thinking that all this could be much simpler than it is.
