Among the multitude of wonderful experiences and thoughtful discussions over the past few days, there are two examples of creating a just culture that were incredibly powerful for me. The first was Dr. Mayer’s candid admission of his own involvement in a medical error. The other was John Nance’s story of a near miss during his career in aviation. It was powerful to hear these leaders recognize their own fallacies and be courageous enough to share them. I hope that in the future, in my own moments of weakness and fault, I remember their stories and am inspired to be as courageous. I hope that as a leader I will be cognizant of my own fallibility and demonstrate the value of all members of the team.
As complex and multifaceted as the healthcare non-system is, we can’t come up with all the solutions in a single day, week, session or even year. This will be an ongoing process for the duration of all our careers and in order to continue identifying problems and solutions, we must all respect and listen to each other. Our created environment can be profoundly changed if all members set aside their egos and listen to each other. A just culture is not simply a good idea, it is a necessity for growth and improvement. This is something we can and should do every day.