Vanderbilt Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy (CPPA)

Sustaining motivated, high-functioning healthcare teams is one of the defining challenges of our time. As care delivery grows more complex, Dr. Gerald Hickson, Founding Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy (CPPA) and long-time RLDatix partner, explains why supporting and respecting people remains central to safer, kinder care. Say Hello to Dr. Hickson:

In celebration of her 80th birthday, Dolly Parton is sharing a heartfelt gift with the world and supporting Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. 💛 Dolly has released a new version of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” a song she first recorded 50 years ago during a moment of transition and hope. This special rendition features an extraordinary lineup of female artists — Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire — and includes David Foster on piano and The Christ Church Choir. Proceeds from the new recording and music video will support pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell, a cause close to Dolly’s heart and one she has championed for many years. Listen here: https://bit.ly/49WRxaW Thank you, Dolly, and happy birthday! 🦋

When it comes to women’s health, there’s no such thing as “routine.” At Vanderbilt Health, we know solving the most complex problems prepares us to solve any problem. In November, our new media campaign kicked off with its first commercial, followed by two more in mid-December. This is our fourth commercial, launching in regional markets this week. It focuses on our capabilities in screening, treating and researching cancer in women. This campaign showcases the important work our employees do every day. If you’re interested in joining our team, click here to learn more: https://bit.ly/4cs0lVc

When a team member dismisses a concern, talks over a colleague, or disrespects a patient, the ripple effect goes far beyond hurt feelings. It undermines learning, erodes trust, and ultimately puts patients at risk. Allison Suttle from Vanderbilt Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy (CPPA) has spent years studying this connection. Her message? Professional behavior isn't about being nice—it's about creating the conditions for safe, effective care. At Connected Healthcare Summit, Allison will break down how Vanderbilt is tackling this head-on with a tiered accountability model that balances system design with personal responsibility. If your organization struggles with addressing unprofessional behavior, this session is a must-attend.

Part 2: Building a culture where people speak up; from silence to safety requires leadership and a plan. The infrastructure is designed to connect the right people, organization, and systems. Having a well-developed infrastructure with ALL elements aligned and connected (no HR or Peer review silos where stories and safety learnings can sometimes go to hide) supports building team member trust, encourages reporting, and facilitates data analysis to identify and address emerging patterns effectively before team members can share, “Oh that’s Dr. B and he is not going to [fill in the name of your favorite safety practice].” Having an infrastructure is great but you must be prepared to share and act on the stories and data collected. That requires leadership commitment and a defined tiered intervention approach for sharing, applying to ALL professionals.   The great news is that individual reports can be screened to identify the <4% that may require additional fact finding. The rest can be addressed by a “Cup of Coffee” and delivered within two days by a trained PEER, not a leader (save leaders for non-responders).   For Dr. B, the initial goal is just to share the story, asking him to pause and reflect. It is not about diagnosing or coaching Dr. B. He knows how to change his gown and gloves. Fewer than 10% of your clinical team members will get reports of disrespectful/unprofessional behavior and >95% will self-regulate before leaders need to be involved. Those who are unwilling or unable to respond are directed to a “Guided Intervention delivered by Authority” with the goal of linking the struggling professional with the right resources. Over 60% of those requiring directed interventions by authority can successfully rejoin their teams, if leaders don’t look the other way and give them a pass. Remember the goal from the first “Cup of Coffee” served is to support our teams and every professional in being the best version of themselves possible. The pursuit of safety requires accountable professionals. There is no way around it, just ask Dr. Semmelweis. You cannot just assume that every Dr. B will endorse every new practice even if you have gained consensus of the need, identified the means to achieve the collective goal, aligned stakeholders, and secured real system leadership support. If you are struggling with your own Dr. B, and no one seems willing or able to address the challenge, then I do hope that they will somehow come around. But I remember a conversation I had early in my career when a thoughtful, widely recognized quality and safety expert reminded me, “Hope is not a plan.” That said, with a little help from our friends, we can build effective plans to support professional self-regulation and accountability where we expect and can be confident that all team members will wash their dang hands and follow so many other effective safety practices. I’d like to think that Dr. Semmelweis would be proud.

Part 1: Building a culture where people speak up; from silence to safety requires leadership and a plan.   When launching a new safety initiative, have you experienced resistance even if everyone seemed to be on board? And when resistance occurs with your next project, will you and fellow team members be prepared to speak up or will there simply be silence which causes the plan to wither away?   At the IHI Forum, the team of Thomas Gallagher, Richard C. Boothman, and Hickson shared several case studies encouraging participants to be prepared to promote team ownership of “our” safety plans, while being prepared to address resistance to change in a non-judgmental, respectful, and effective way.   So, when (not if) one of those, “Heck no, this does not apply to ME,” moments occur, are your team members willing, able, and supported to respond and address? ➡️ Reference the case report in the photos and consider if one of your plans might be vulnerable.   Lots of energy had gone into creating a surgical bundle to support infection prevention. And now an influential team member who voiced no objection during planning seems to have thrown a “wrench” into your plan, or “spanner” as our Australian colleagues say.   Session participants, a distinguished group of safety and quality experts, were all asked if Dr. B were to fail to re-gown and re-glove where you work, what percentage of your team members might speak up or share the experience through your safety reporting system? ➡️ See below for results from participants.   As results of the anonymous polling suggest, most team members are expected to do nothing. But if no one is willing to act, what might be the impact on your safety initiative, patients served, and your pursuit of high reliability? Are your safety practices, whether hand hygiene, time outs, or as with Dr. B, compliance with a new surgical bundle, just suggestions? Participants were challenged to consider how to build the will and wherewithal to support pursuit of safety and professional accountability. The group concluded it’s about: core values, committed leaders who won’t BLINK, and an infrastructure to support professionals being professional.