Schilling, Keith A.

Mayo Clinic’s Management Engineering and Internal Consulting Department has a comprehensive and integrated approach to knowledge management (KM). This enables the department to provide consistent delivery of services, reduce project duration and innovate and build from the collective and diverse expertise of their team members, who are in multiple health system locations in the United States. The KM and sharing programme consists of tools to manage content and best-practice methodologies as well as informal and formal approaches to sharing broad knowledge and expertise via project design forums, social networks (eg community of practice groups) and knowledge sharing and project libraries. Staff are encouraged to contribute to the stored knowledge to support future project needs and to extract data for best practices and lessons learned (including successes and failures) to assist current project efforts.

Objectives A culture-of-safety survey of our hospital staff revealed fear-based reluctance to question those in authority. We aimed to examine provider approachability (words and actions that promote trust and reduce or eliminate fear of interaction). Methods Providers and staff completed an anonymous facility-wide survey (survey 1) regarding perceptions of provider approachability. Results were safely communicated to providers, and improvement resources were offered. A follow-up survey (survey 2 [S2]) was performed. Results The survey participation rate was 59% (389/658). Eighty-four percent of providers had improved scores in S2. Mean top-box scores improved from 0.63 to 0.76 (P < .001). Providers deemed less approachable by nonprovider staff were also deemed less approachable by their peers (r = 0.82; survey 1). Forty-four percent reported improvement in the safety culture in S2. Twenty-eight percent of providers reported making efforts to improve how they were perceived by others. Conclusions Provider approachability surveys are a safe, effective method of assessing and encouraging positive interactions that promote trust and influence positive communication. The process created an opportunity to identify and assist providers who were less approachable.