Just Culture

At the University of Tennessee Medical Center, safety is first. Our safety culture is shaped using a methodology known as a "Just Culture." We continuously monitor processes, procedures and systems to ensure quality and safety for all of our patients, families and staff. Another crucial element is to ensure our staff has access to continuing education and training. Our safety culture creates an environment where errors can be reported without the apprehension of disciplinary action. Our goal and responsibility is to identify the root cause of a situation and be able to correct it, preventing reoccurrence. By implementing Just Culture, we focus on what happened, how it happened and why it happened, rather than who did it. This approach enables staff to report a situation immediately so the proper attention is given in a timely manner.

We operate using many systems and processes requiring staff to have education and training. With change being constant, we strive to keep the systems and processes current, efficient and productive. Using Just Culture as our model, we can identify and pinpoint where to focus efforts. We can determine if there is a break in process or if education/training is needed for our staff. This model is beneficial for everyone and allows us to constantly improve our patient care.