title: Patient safety culture and leadership within Canada's Academic Health Science Centres: towards the development of a collaborative position paper.
abstract: Currently, the Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses (ACEN) is working with the Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations (ACAHO) to develop a joint position paper on patient safety cultures and leadership within Academic Health Science Centres (AHSCs). Pressures to improve patient safety within our healthcare system are gaining momentum daily. Because AHSCs in Canada are the key organizations that are positioned regionally and nationally, where service delivery is the platform for the education of future healthcare providers, and where the development of new knowledge and innovation through research occurs, leadership for patient safety logically must emanate from them. As a primer, ACEN provides an overview of current patient safety initiatives in AHSCs to date. In addition, the following six key areas for action are identified to ensure that AHSCs continue to be leaders in delivering quality, safe healthcare in Canada. These include: (1) strategic orientation to safety culture and quality improvement, (2) open and transparent disclosure policies, (3) health human resources integral to ensuring patient safety practices, (4) effective linkages between AHSCs and academic institutions, (5) national patient safety accountability initiatives and (6) collaborative team practice.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Programs and Patient Safety, The Ottawa Hospital, ON.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nicklin
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mass
authors.forename: Dyanne D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Affonso
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferguson-Paré
authors.forename: Lianne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jeffs
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tregunno
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: White
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002170:Canada; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D007857:Leadership; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012954:Societies, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D012956:Societies, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014342:Truth Disclosure