Psychological safety

Across the department, formal efforts over the past decade have promoted psychological safety — the concept that members of a team should feel safe sharing ideas, concerns and mistakes. The notion is key to a healthy work environment and is essential for patient safety. As head of the department’s Leadership and Professionalism Committee since its inception in 2006, thoracic surgeon Alec Patterson, MD, has led psychological safety and related efforts and watched them evolve. They began with an all-faculty peer review and now include projects to foster teamwork and full participation in the school’s four-part diversity and inclusion training. He recently started sharing leadership responsibilities with Tiffany Osborn, MD, MPH, but remains committed to improving patient safety, empowering every team member and helping everyone appreciate diversity in the operating room. Patterson also is a proponent of the #HeforShe movement promoting gender equality. “We should encourage men to foster women,” he says.