Leadership step | Change leadership for ISS | Illustrations |
---|---|---|
Establish a sense of urgency | Identify “pain points” or precious goals of key stakeholders to inspire action and program development | ○ Leverage patient stories, moral imperatives, regulatory requirements, or institutional threats ○ Multiple incident reports of adverse outcomes for babies due to communication issues identified in neonatal resuscitations ○ National accreditation requirements identified for training in recognition and response to deteriorating patients |
Form a guiding coalition | Engage top-down and bottom-up multi-professional partners to create buy-in. Do not work alone | ○ Simulation facilitators as well as clinical stakeholders and healthcare leaders form a working party to clarify goals of ISS program (e.g., clinical readiness, quality, inclusion) ○ Gain representation on relevant hospital committees to garner support across different levels of governance |
Create a vision | Co-create shared goals and vision to address individual, unit, and organisational needs | ○ Host regular meetings with program sponsors/supporters to gather input into program scope and establish a shared mental model on program goals and expectations ○ Utilize evidence-based examples in the literature to inform goals |
Communicate the vision | Communicate shared goals, vision, and outcomes that accurately represent value and assist with positive reinforcement of participation | ○ Brand program with a “catchy name” that communicates the function and vision of the program ○ Socialize program in a variety of settings, including existing forums such as grand rounds or safety huddles |
Empower others to act on the vision | Energize (or re-energize) program participants by clarifying program logistics and providing approachable opportunities for familiarization with the program | ○ Commence program with “fun” simulation-based activities within the clinical environments to introduce departments to the program and educate them about simulation ○ Provide early adopters who want to learn more about simulation/debriefing professional simulation development opportunities |
Plan for and create short-term wins | Identify and celebrate early adopters and early successes to build momentum | ○ Commence program in clinical units that are excited, engaged, and who have had previous positive experiences with ISS ○ Publicly advertise the date, time, and the scenario theme, in advance, for the initial program commencement period |
Consolidate improvements to produce still more change | Ensure program impacts are visible by closing the loop with multi-professional partners | ○ Communicate identified issues uncovered during the simulations with hospital leadership ○ Share improvements at staff huddles ○ Create infographics to communicate improvements |
Institutionalize new approaches | Embed simulation in the organisational culture and regular operations | ○ Include ISS programs in specific policy documents on workforce training/development ○ Establish formal reporting process/agenda item at quality and safety or hospital governance meetings ○ Celebrate program successes through annual anniversaries of program commencement and dissemination of annual reports |