Tracy Dowdy, CVPM, discusses prevention and management of the inevitable mistakes that happen, particularly in a fast-paced veterinary practice. Creating a better working environment for team members and clients includes these actions:
- Ensure the practice does as much as possible to help team members avoid making wrong decisions or acting inappropriately
- Acknowledge mistakes that occur
- Discuss the details of each incident
- Help the team focus on improvement.
He emphasizes the importance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and notes that practices that do not have written SOPs face many pitfalls, ranging from a chaotic workflow and unproductive team members to inconsistent client service and patient care.
Source: Veterinary Team Brief, August 2016.
Dowdy’s protocols for handling mistakes:
- Admit
- Apologize
- Ask for help
- Avoid self-recrimination
- Address improvement