It is important to note that the most prevalent system of providing incentives is centered around punishment in order to reduce the instance of undesirable behaviors and outcomes. The framework of just culture is an interesting one since it utilizes the notion of positive reinforcement in order to facilitate error management and healthcare delivery quality enhancements. The system encourages professionals to be more open and transparent about the mistakes they have made, which in turn allows organizations to be more aware of the key procedural pitfalls and make necessary adjustments around them.
In my experience, the first possible impression of just culture can be manifested in an individual being doubtful about just culture since it welcomes mistakes instead of imposing punishments. However, the successful implementation of the framework in the aviation field is indicative of the fact that it is highly useful, especially where errors involve human life and safety. Aviation is a prime example of an industry where any form of significant malfunction can result in deaths and destruction as well as massive property losses. Healthcare is similar in this regard since the field focuses on human health and life, and errors also result in deaths and severe complications.
Therefore, my practice would be more proactive in the sense that I would be able to focus solely on delivering the highest quality of care instead of being constrained and stressed about the potential implications of my errors. Although the punitive system works in terms of discouraging human errors, the human factor is an unavoidable factor, which is the result of human imperfection. Therefore, it is evident that it is better to work around the human factor rather than punishing it without solutions.
Just culture is a framework or system, which can lead to major improvements. It is stated that a just culture can enhance error management, blame and fairness balance, staff and leadership interactions, and encourage system leadership for positive changes (Barkell & Snyder, 2021). In other words, safety needs and quality improvements can be made by removing punishments since they are the main barrier to revealing procedural pitfalls.
By encouraging the reporting of errors, organizations will be able to develop strategies designed to minimize the effects of the human factor. Human errors are unavoidable, and punishments do not directly reduce them, and thus, working on minimization of human errors and their effects can significantly improve patient safety. The current needs for nursing professionals are drastically changing, which is why old systems might not be as suitable as they were in the past (Ricciardi, 2018). Thus, just culture can become the correct and effective alternative to the punitive system, which is why nursing specialists should promote and adopt just culture not only for the systematic enhancement but also for patient safety improvements by gradually adopting some elements of just culture.
In conclusion, my organization does not use just culture, but I have experience of working in a similar environment due to my supervisor encouraging me to be more open and straightforward about the mistakes I have made. Although it was not a full integration of just culture, experiencing some aspects of it helped me realize that working under such an incentive improved my care in the long term because I learned significantly more about quality care delivery by being open about my instances of incompetence. Therefore, I now know how to minimize the impact of the human factor when delivering care, which also improves my patients’ safety.
References
Barkell, N. P., & Snyder, S. S. (2021). Just culture in healthcare: An integrative review. Nursing Forum, 56(1), 103–111. Web.
Ricciardi, R. (2018). The next frontier for nurses. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 33(1), 1–4. Web.