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In healthcare, safety protocols, checklists, and technology are designed to catch errors before they harm patients. But too often, the warning signs are ignored. The real problem isn’t just honest mistakes, it’s the silent choice not to speak up when risks are known.
This eBook explores findings from one of the largest studies of nurses in critical care and perioperative settings, showing how silence persists even when lives are at stake. It focuses on three of the most common and dangerous “undiscussables”:
- Dangerous Shortcuts – Risky behaviours taken to save time that compromise patient safety.
- Incompetence – Gaps in skills or knowledge that go unaddressed, leading to preventable harm.
- Disrespect – Rude or dismissive behaviour that silences colleagues and erodes teamwork.
The research shows that more than four out of five nurses witness these issues, yet fewer than one in three speak up effectively. Patients pay the price through near misses, preventable harm, and loss of trust. But there is hope: exceptional nurses, those who do voice their concerns, demonstrate how skills, courage, and cultural support can turn silence into lifesaving dialogue.
Organisations can break the silence by embedding skills training and leveraging multiple sources of influence, personal, social, and structural, that empower caregivers to hold Crucial Conversations® when it matters most.
To learn how Crucial Conversations® training can help your teams build a culture of safety and open dialogue, click below:
👉 Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue
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