Unless you have a medical background, you likely feel slightly uneasy and confused when you, or a loved one, are in the hospital or are facing a new diagnosis. As doctors, and others on the care team, spout off procedures, you may catch only a portion.

Tara Stulce and Jeanie Skibiski from the McQueary College of Health and Human Services at Missouri State University participate in an interdisciplinary committee that focuses on healthcare teams and creating better overall cooperation and communication among team members.

“We try to find ways to educate our students in all of the different healthcare disciplines on how they can come together as a team and work together to promote the best care for the patient,” Stulce said.

While patient safety is always a priority for healthcare providers, Skibiski notes that, in 2001, there was a publication that brought this issue to the forefront.

Now, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement sponsors Patient Safety Awareness Week. This year, it will be observed March 8-14.

“Students are going to do some simulations of actual patient safety events – mishaps. You can learn a lot from simulation, just like the aviation industry has learned a lot from what goes wrong,” Skibiski said.

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