Ideas That Work: Learn From the Mistakes of Others

Most people who make a mistake feel embarrassed, but often these experiences can be a valuable learning tool. In fact, sharing what could have gone wrong with colleagues helps them avoid similar missteps. That’s why staff at Eye 35 ASC in Schertz, Texas, fill out near-miss forms whenever errors almost happen. The forms do not serve as a disciplinary record and can be totally anonymous. There’s a space on the forms to note in which department the near-miss occurred, the circumstances surrounding the event, how it was identified and addressed, and what could have happened if the mistake was not caught. “We’re not in the business to get each other in trouble, but rather, we’re creating an environment to share incidents that could have caused a bad outcome and to learn from others,” says Carson McCafferty, MSN, RN, CNOR, CSSM, CSRN, clinical director at Eye 35 ASC. OSM