The 7 Most Dangerous Words in Healthcare

By Keith Carlson via Multibriefs

This podcast originally appeared on NurseKeith.com.

What are the seven most dangerous words in healthcare? In my universe, those seven words are “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Highlights and questions from this episode:

• Where do our habits and beliefs come from?
• How do we so easily get bogged down in feeling right rather than listening and evaluating?
• Resistance to change can be like an infectious disease.
• Who are the people who resist change? They’re the ones who generally aren’t natural intrapreneurs or leaders. They’re more likely to be the people who just do their work and go home, with little investment in their careers or jobs — they’re mostly in it simply for the paycheck. Such individuals may also be fearful of technology, which one would think is a stark difference between generations, but that’s not always the case — resistance can come from any nurse from any generation.
• What do we resist? New ways of doing things that take us out of our comfort zone; things that go against our natural modus operandi; new tech that feels scary or hard to learn; change for change’s sake and arbitrary change with no evidence base.
• We may also resist new leadership styles; new policies and procedures; new staff members and colleagues; novice colleagues; residents and interns; and any changes to our workflow and the way we’re used to doing things.
• What changes around us? Economics; research; technology; medications and treatments; diagnoses; mergers and acquisitions; unions or the lack thereof; staffing practices.
• I mentioned the Tenet nurse strikes in three states in September 2019.
• How do we open ourselves and our colleagues to change? Use our critical thinking; assess before reacting; talk about the pros and cons; ignore the naysayers who say no just for the sake of saying no.

Keith Carlson, RN, BSN, NC-BC, has been a nurse since 1996. He is the blogger behind the award-winning blog, Digital Doorway, a widely read freelance nurse writer, and motivational/keynote speaker. Keith is the host of The Nurse Keith Show, a popular nursing career podcast. Under the auspices of Nurse Keith Coaching, Keith's passion is helping nurses and healthcare professionals create ultimate satisfaction in both their personal and professional lives.