Sip on Safety: Enhancing Safety Culture One Mocktail at a Time

Brennon Quick, MSN, RN
Erik Martin, DNP, RN, CENP, FAONL

“Let’s grab a drink.”

[Caption] Staff at Norton Children’s Hospital participate in Sip on Safety, an initiative to increase reporting of near misses and enhance the safety culture.

A simple human phrase that carries meaning. It signals connection, openness and a space where people feel safe to share and engage in conversation. In healthcare, those same elements are vital but difficult to create amid high-acuity, fast-paced environments and an ever-changing health care system. Yet it is exactly what is needed to build psychological safety and strengthen a culture of patient safety. Patient safety is tied to human behavior. What if we tied the human connection of sharing a drink to patient safety?