NYONEL Statement on RaDonda Vaught Conviction

We have all read about the RaDonda Vaught case, at times in horror and at times in disbelief.  Much has been written about rallying behind Ms. Vaught, and certainly what you chose to do or not is a choice that is made with so much in mind.  However, there is one thing that reverberates for me: what can we do as leaders to support our staff who have also read the story and are most likely reacting in similar ways?

The first thing that comes to mind is what we cannot do.  We cannot allow this one, albeit seminal, case to undo all that we have done in over twenty years to make transparency commonplace in healthcare.  We must continue to be able to refine our healthcare systems.  We have come such a long way in creating redundant systems, engineering changes that have made our work so much safer than it was when this journey began. That work must continue.

And, therein lies the crux of this present situation.  Healthcare safety is a journey and we all share responsibility for its improvement.  Human factor engineering was identified years ago as a primary way to improve the safety of our system.  As we continue our efforts to ensure patient safety, we must not lose sight of the goal and continue to support our staff as they come forward to report their challenges and mistakes.  Along with our institutional leaders, we must reinforce transparency as the road to safety, and assure our staff and students that it will not be punished. We must foster an environment where leaders, learners and staff alike are seen as true partners in healthcare system improvement.

There are many lessons that the RaDonda Vaught case can provide.  One of the most important is our responsibility to work as a collaborative healthcare team to identify broken processes and fix them.

Is not that what our journey to healthcare safety is all about?

Nicolette Fiore-Lopez, PhD, RN, CENP

NYONEL President