One Doctor’s ‘Awkward’ Decision To Write His Name On His Scrub Cap Is Changing Safety In Hospitals Around The World
We get so used to our everyday lives, we rarely stop to question the simple things. After all, if they remained the same for so long, is it possible to improve them even more? Well… Yes. In an attempt to avoid confusion during surgical procedures, Australian anesthetist Dr. Rob Hackett decided to wear a custom scrub cap with his name on “Rob … Anesthetist.”
Image credits: patientsafe3
“The #TheatreCapChallenge is an initiative from the PatientSafe Network in response to concerns about how easily avoidable mistakes and poor communication are contributing to rising adverse events for our medical patients,” Dr. Hackett told Bored Panda. “It has been adopted around the world with studies from the US and UK demonstrating how this simple idea can decrease human errors in healthcare.”
At first, his colleagues didn’t take it seriously. “There were some snide remarks, like ‘can’t you remember your name?'” Dr. Hackett said. Fast forward a year, and Rob the anesthetist is having the last laugh as it’s becoming a trend across the globe.
Image credits: patientsafe3
Now, medical professionals are showing their support and involvement in the movement by tweeting selfies with their own surgical caps, just like Dr. Hackett’s. Under the hashtag #TheatreCapChallenge, they argue that having their names on scrubs can save vital seconds in life and death situations. The move, they say, can reduce delays and misidentification that occur when clinicians can’t recognize or can’t remember the names of their colleagues in the operating theatre.
Image credits: patientsafe3
“I went to a cardiac arrest in a theatre where there were about 20 people in the room,” Dr. Rob Hackett said. “I struggled to even ask to be passed some gloves because the person I was pointing to thought I was pointing to the person behind them.”
Image credits: patientsafe3
“It’s so much easier to coordinate when you know everyone’s names. It’s great for camaraderie and it’s great for patients as well.”
“It’s been great interacting with a networked team of passionate individuals from all over the world,” Dr. Hackett added. “They’re constantly generating data. UK studies have shown increased name recall amongst staff from 42 to 85%, increased name and role introductions during the surgical safety checklist from 38 to 90%. Simulation studies at Stanford University in the US demonstrated greatly increased communication and theatre efficiency.”
When it comes to patients, women who are having cesarean sections, in particular, might benefit from the reassurance of knowing the names and positions of every staff member around them.
Moreover, switching to reusable caps might even lead to substantial environmental benefits. “A 20-theatre hospital will discard over 100,000 disposable caps every year. The caps and hospital gowns are made from viscose – a substance whose production is particularly harmful to the environment.”
Then there’s the financial side. “A hospital this size may spend somewhere in the region of $10,000 every year on disposable caps.”
Image credits: RoyalSurrey
Operating theatres abide by the World Health Organisation’s surgical safety checklist, and it requires all staff to introduce themselves prior to surgery. Dr. Hackett confessed that, in his experience, this section of the checklist was often disregarded as a ‘tick-box exercise.’ “When it’s done properly there are a few giggles from people, which tells me it’s not done regularly.”
Dr. Hackett said the campaign has been met with some pushback. Usually, by the senior, hospital staff. The anesthetist thought this was a symptom of inertia in the health system towards change.
“Cognitive dissonance [is one of the challenges] that #TheatreCapChallenge has faced,” Dr. Hackett explained. “It’s most likely to affect those who feel defined by their decisions often those further up the chain of command – in accepting change they’ll need to accept that what was happening previously, on their watch as it were, was not as good.”
“Within healthcare, this may mean we have to accept we’ve been hurting people, even killing people for years – often this can be too hard to bear.”
Image credits: lotusgav
Image credits: morefluids
“While there’s been support for name & role caps from anaesthetic and obstetric societies, it’s interesting to observe that were yet to receive any active support from a surgical college.”
“Here’s a golden opportunity for them to face up to the bullying nature they’ve been tarred with.”
Image credits: patientsafe3
#TheatreCapChallenge made many remember the #hellomynameis campaign founded by Dr. Kate Granger, who died of cancer in 2016. Dr. Granger started raising similar points after a hospital stay for postoperative sepsis in 2013. During it, many of the staff responsible for care didn’t introduce themselves, and, in her opinion, passed on a valuable chance to strengthen therapeutic relationships and build trust between staff and patient.
Image credits: heather3003
Image credits: patientsafe3
Image credits: patientsafe3
Image credits: patientsafe3
Image credits: patientsafe3
Image credits: patientsafe3
Image credits: BSUHperiop_ed
Image credits: patientsafe3
To follow Dr. Rob Hackett, check out his Twitter page.
It is not the cap...it is the attitude. I firmly believe that good healthcare has a personal touch. Why else are so many people seeking stuff like homeopathy, which provenly has no health effect? Because it is administered by people who listen and care. If we would combine effective treatment with a human attitude, healthcare would be transformed. I even believe it would save money in the long run.
I had a surgeon that got upset when my son (autistic and 12 at the time) cried and said "you hurt me" after the doctor had given him stitches. I was not surprised my son said this because the doctor was in such a rush to push my son through that he failed to listen to my request which was for me to block my son's ability to see him administering the stitches since that is what he was scared of..not the actual pain. More and more I see doctors pushing patients through like cattle. And while I feel for the overcrowded waiting rooms and overflowing ER's...it doesn't take a lot to be compassionate to people. So many doctors take things personally without realizing that they are dealing with people that are having one of their worst days of their year..if not their lives.
Load More Replies...This is such a great idea. A simple solution to a big problem. It says "Dr. Hackett said the campaign has been met with some pushback. Usually, by the senior, hospital staff. The anaesthetist thought this was a symptom of inertia in the health system towards change." I wish they would get on board with this, too. It really is a big improvement.
That is such a great idea. Sometimes you ask a complicated question of the wrong person. Particularly in a surgical situation where everyone is in the same clothing. It is good to know who's who.
Load More Replies...Makes sense to me, everyone is wearing mask during surgery, how are they gonna tell each other apart is my guess.
After several surgeries, I'm grateful this is catching on. No one looks tge same suited up, so it's very helpful. It's also
I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! I was always the biggest guy on staff so I was never mistaken for being anyone else, but when the lineup changes every day, it's really easy to say the wrong name to someone on shift. We always took it as no big deal, but the new people sometimes took a lot of offense to the learning curve. We used to assign new names based on what comic character the person resembled. Then again we worked in a very active Trauma Center, so levity was always welcome.
Thanks for what you guys do, and to everyone around the world that does the same. Can’t really think of a more noble profession. So thanks 💙
Load More Replies...These are awesome! Never mind the humanizing (although that's definitely great too), just the fact that you know who you're talking to and don't have to hunt for a tiny unreadable badge is awesome. More-so for people who are bedridden, vision impaired, etc.
Mine would say: Jeannette, Patient. And then no one would know if it is my task or my character.
At our level one trauma center hospital, the trauma unit has stickers and the physicians and such stick them on their scrubs to identify what role they play. It's such a fiasco sometimes that it's easy to lose track of who is whom, especially when there are so many doctors, residents, nurses, techs, etc all scrambling to do their thing.
I LOVE THIS! I went thru a car accident and then several surgeries, and struggled to remember all my doctor's and nurses names, because I wanted to send them all thank you notes when I got home.
I think this is wonderful. I'm a retired nurse, and I recognise the importance of knowing who's who when we all look the same. It also takes some of the formality out of introductions. Why would anyone not join in!
Come on UK let’s get this done. I struggle a lot with knowing who’s who, when I. Hospital, so this would be great. Even children will benefit. 😂👌🏻
I love this! I’m a professional surgery patient (congenital hydrocephalus) and, on a few occasions, have had surgeries performed by people I’d never laid eyes on until we were in the OR. To complicate matters, when I’m in the throes of shunt malfunction, my brain turns to mush and I can’t remember what day it is. It would be so reassuring to be able to ID the surgeons, nurses, etc. who are working on me, AND to have their names visible when I inevitably forget.
I love this idea, plus it shows a more human and friendlier side of the healthcare profession. I am going to look into getting one my son who is a nurse in the OR.
What a noble profession your son is in, you must be very proud. 😄💓
Load More Replies...This is a great sensible idea, hope it will be accepted everywhere, also saving money, with cut backs in healthcare , save money every possible way, as well as helping patients or saving lives, why question the idea, and helping the environment !!!
If I could give more upvotes I would... had a surgeon with Mickey Mouse ears on his scrubs hat, and anisthesiast with googly eyes on their scrub hat... made me feel very at ease and relaxed for my surgery.... being an adult I can only imagine how comforting for a child having surgery this would have been. Well done 👍❤👍
Having been a patient, multiple times, surrounded by masks and eyes only... having a simple thing such as being able to "identify" a person who is looking after you.... would be AMAZING, and very comforting in what is often a highly stressful time. More places could benefit from doing this.
Also to butt in on the "its the personal attitude-part, not the cap" ; Since I was little I´ve been incredibly hard for nurses and doctors to put IV or needles in. I have deep,rolling and hard veins and I have been known to both faint and to have to leave and come back in 2 weeks because they´ve poked the vein to smitherens. 6-ish years ago I was diagnosed with MS and for the last 5 years I´ve had 60+ treatments in IV-form. I´ve never fainted at MSward (but at urgent care and housedoctor during this time) and they always get blood and a good line there. I like to think of it like urgent care or housedoctor is like fastfood. They want you to sit down,give your orderform on what tests are needed and then it´s needle,blood,bandaid and off you go next patient! Where as MSward is a treatmentward. They know me by name,there is smalltalk and I feel safe because I trust them and I know that I am under X´s care. A world of difference! That personal touch!
Back in 2011 I underwent skullsurgery and I spent like 10-15 minutes scared and stressed from the time they rolled me in until the finally put me under. There was so many many people there trying to get blood, needles in hand and foot, get the preassurestockings on, all the monitorthings on me etcetra. They all said their names but I just saw this wave of people dressed in green scrubs and since I´m autistic and highlysensitive when I get stressed sounds kinda get distorted and more like crashing waves than words. Being able to read what they were in charge of would´ve calmed me and made it seem less chaotic. A small thing but I think it would´ve helped me. Surgery is stressful and scary enough as it is!
I wish ALL hospital personnel would do this. With all staff in nearly identical scrubs, it's very difficult for patients and their families to differentiate a nurse from the dietitian from the cleaning person.
Why not have different positions/classes wear different color scrubs? E.g.: Nurses in soft blue; Scrub Nurses in dark blue; Surgeons in Red; Midwife in yellow; Anesthetists in green; etc. That would clarify a position even more strongly, especially if teamed with caps with names on them.
Uh, we been using colors, names and jobs on our headgear in the air arm of the Navy for ...gosh, almost 100 years now. If you can't see faces, or know names/jobs (yeah, a few thousand are on a carrier and a few hundred are on the flight deck), even in a team of just 5 people it gets confusing quickly. The Navy did that for the same reasons, safety and to be able to quickly respond to emergencies.
Awesome! Thanks so much for your service. 💜👏
Load More Replies..."Cognitive dissonance [is one of the challenges] that #TheatreCapChallenge has faced,” Dr. Hackett explained. “It’s most likely to affect those who feel defined by their decisions often those further up the chain of command – in accepting change they’ll need to accept that what was happening previously, on their watch as it were, was not as good.” Within healthcare, this may mean we have to accept we’ve been hurting people, even killing people for years – often this can be too hard to bear.” WHAAAT!? We can't change because then people will get upset that others will think that things were bad before. That is the lamest, worst possible excuse to resist change that I have ever heard. If people really worked like this, we'd still be waving rattling sticks over sick people and asking the spirits for help. FFS.
seems like such a simple and good idea, why would anyone be against it?
If I ever have to go in for surgery (hopefully never again), maybe I can get a cap that says "Patient".
Also, color code those caps according to profession/speciality and you have the perfect team set-up. Especially importans in emergency surgery.
This would have made a huge difference to my comfort level during my two c-sections. I didn't know who anyone was because I was so foggy after hours of labour that I couldn't have remembered even if they did introduce themselves - and I don't think all of them did.
Will this work for a Radiologist ? My wife is the single doctor in a big scan room with 1 patient at a time...
Interesting that many of the people pictured were anaesthetic specialists. Do they know something we don't, or are they just a friendlier and more progressive bunch?
I love it but keep the jargon- "ODP" and "Dr" and "Pediatric Nurse opthamologist" of the caps... Name and job only
I knew what this was for before reading. I've woken up from anesthesia twice & was so disoriented & afraid I tried to escape. Woke to a nurse with his hands down my gown once. He was checking my bandages but waking up to that was truly frightening. The other time I tried to run, body wasn't awake yet, fell flat on face.
I knew exactly what it was for before reading anything. I've woken from anesthesia twice & tried to escape because I was so afraid & didn't know where I was or why. I hurt myself the 1st time because my body wasn't as awake as my mind.
Roger . . . . . Philosopher. A lot of what the medical profession does is harmful. If you have a traumatic acute condition like a broken arm, see the doctor. If you want to build health and prevent disease, avoid the doctors.
KCN you are totally right it was an ingrown hair! And turns out she was a nurse practitioner with a phd who introduced herself as "doctor"
No Millie its not made up. She said I had hydradenitis which would require lifelong treatment. Google it and educate yourself. Dx was wrong
Awesome idea! We also had large badges to go under our picture ID's with RN, LPN, MA, MD, etc. so everyone could pick out what everyone's role was. But in the OR, everyone is in scrubs, so makes sense since you can't see badges. Less confusion and keeps everyone safer, especially during emergency situations.
Not during surgeries, usually just during consultations and check ups will they be wearing a tag. Operations have an entirely different wardrobe
Load More Replies...Why is the word 'Awkward' necessary in this title? Do you have any understanding of what that words means and it's irrelevance to the content of the article? Come on - you can do beter than this
I'm sorry, but if I woke up in surgery and saw Gavin Sullivan's face (like THAT), I'd freak the F out.
It's gotten to the point that your comments are funny to me... like it's obvious you're just trying to tick people off, there's no way you actually believe the things you type
Load More Replies...It is not the cap...it is the attitude. I firmly believe that good healthcare has a personal touch. Why else are so many people seeking stuff like homeopathy, which provenly has no health effect? Because it is administered by people who listen and care. If we would combine effective treatment with a human attitude, healthcare would be transformed. I even believe it would save money in the long run.
I had a surgeon that got upset when my son (autistic and 12 at the time) cried and said "you hurt me" after the doctor had given him stitches. I was not surprised my son said this because the doctor was in such a rush to push my son through that he failed to listen to my request which was for me to block my son's ability to see him administering the stitches since that is what he was scared of..not the actual pain. More and more I see doctors pushing patients through like cattle. And while I feel for the overcrowded waiting rooms and overflowing ER's...it doesn't take a lot to be compassionate to people. So many doctors take things personally without realizing that they are dealing with people that are having one of their worst days of their year..if not their lives.
Load More Replies...This is such a great idea. A simple solution to a big problem. It says "Dr. Hackett said the campaign has been met with some pushback. Usually, by the senior, hospital staff. The anaesthetist thought this was a symptom of inertia in the health system towards change." I wish they would get on board with this, too. It really is a big improvement.
That is such a great idea. Sometimes you ask a complicated question of the wrong person. Particularly in a surgical situation where everyone is in the same clothing. It is good to know who's who.
Load More Replies...Makes sense to me, everyone is wearing mask during surgery, how are they gonna tell each other apart is my guess.
After several surgeries, I'm grateful this is catching on. No one looks tge same suited up, so it's very helpful. It's also
I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! I was always the biggest guy on staff so I was never mistaken for being anyone else, but when the lineup changes every day, it's really easy to say the wrong name to someone on shift. We always took it as no big deal, but the new people sometimes took a lot of offense to the learning curve. We used to assign new names based on what comic character the person resembled. Then again we worked in a very active Trauma Center, so levity was always welcome.
Thanks for what you guys do, and to everyone around the world that does the same. Can’t really think of a more noble profession. So thanks 💙
Load More Replies...These are awesome! Never mind the humanizing (although that's definitely great too), just the fact that you know who you're talking to and don't have to hunt for a tiny unreadable badge is awesome. More-so for people who are bedridden, vision impaired, etc.
Mine would say: Jeannette, Patient. And then no one would know if it is my task or my character.
At our level one trauma center hospital, the trauma unit has stickers and the physicians and such stick them on their scrubs to identify what role they play. It's such a fiasco sometimes that it's easy to lose track of who is whom, especially when there are so many doctors, residents, nurses, techs, etc all scrambling to do their thing.
I LOVE THIS! I went thru a car accident and then several surgeries, and struggled to remember all my doctor's and nurses names, because I wanted to send them all thank you notes when I got home.
I think this is wonderful. I'm a retired nurse, and I recognise the importance of knowing who's who when we all look the same. It also takes some of the formality out of introductions. Why would anyone not join in!
Come on UK let’s get this done. I struggle a lot with knowing who’s who, when I. Hospital, so this would be great. Even children will benefit. 😂👌🏻
I love this! I’m a professional surgery patient (congenital hydrocephalus) and, on a few occasions, have had surgeries performed by people I’d never laid eyes on until we were in the OR. To complicate matters, when I’m in the throes of shunt malfunction, my brain turns to mush and I can’t remember what day it is. It would be so reassuring to be able to ID the surgeons, nurses, etc. who are working on me, AND to have their names visible when I inevitably forget.
I love this idea, plus it shows a more human and friendlier side of the healthcare profession. I am going to look into getting one my son who is a nurse in the OR.
What a noble profession your son is in, you must be very proud. 😄💓
Load More Replies...This is a great sensible idea, hope it will be accepted everywhere, also saving money, with cut backs in healthcare , save money every possible way, as well as helping patients or saving lives, why question the idea, and helping the environment !!!
If I could give more upvotes I would... had a surgeon with Mickey Mouse ears on his scrubs hat, and anisthesiast with googly eyes on their scrub hat... made me feel very at ease and relaxed for my surgery.... being an adult I can only imagine how comforting for a child having surgery this would have been. Well done 👍❤👍
Having been a patient, multiple times, surrounded by masks and eyes only... having a simple thing such as being able to "identify" a person who is looking after you.... would be AMAZING, and very comforting in what is often a highly stressful time. More places could benefit from doing this.
Also to butt in on the "its the personal attitude-part, not the cap" ; Since I was little I´ve been incredibly hard for nurses and doctors to put IV or needles in. I have deep,rolling and hard veins and I have been known to both faint and to have to leave and come back in 2 weeks because they´ve poked the vein to smitherens. 6-ish years ago I was diagnosed with MS and for the last 5 years I´ve had 60+ treatments in IV-form. I´ve never fainted at MSward (but at urgent care and housedoctor during this time) and they always get blood and a good line there. I like to think of it like urgent care or housedoctor is like fastfood. They want you to sit down,give your orderform on what tests are needed and then it´s needle,blood,bandaid and off you go next patient! Where as MSward is a treatmentward. They know me by name,there is smalltalk and I feel safe because I trust them and I know that I am under X´s care. A world of difference! That personal touch!
Back in 2011 I underwent skullsurgery and I spent like 10-15 minutes scared and stressed from the time they rolled me in until the finally put me under. There was so many many people there trying to get blood, needles in hand and foot, get the preassurestockings on, all the monitorthings on me etcetra. They all said their names but I just saw this wave of people dressed in green scrubs and since I´m autistic and highlysensitive when I get stressed sounds kinda get distorted and more like crashing waves than words. Being able to read what they were in charge of would´ve calmed me and made it seem less chaotic. A small thing but I think it would´ve helped me. Surgery is stressful and scary enough as it is!
I wish ALL hospital personnel would do this. With all staff in nearly identical scrubs, it's very difficult for patients and their families to differentiate a nurse from the dietitian from the cleaning person.
Why not have different positions/classes wear different color scrubs? E.g.: Nurses in soft blue; Scrub Nurses in dark blue; Surgeons in Red; Midwife in yellow; Anesthetists in green; etc. That would clarify a position even more strongly, especially if teamed with caps with names on them.
Uh, we been using colors, names and jobs on our headgear in the air arm of the Navy for ...gosh, almost 100 years now. If you can't see faces, or know names/jobs (yeah, a few thousand are on a carrier and a few hundred are on the flight deck), even in a team of just 5 people it gets confusing quickly. The Navy did that for the same reasons, safety and to be able to quickly respond to emergencies.
Awesome! Thanks so much for your service. 💜👏
Load More Replies..."Cognitive dissonance [is one of the challenges] that #TheatreCapChallenge has faced,” Dr. Hackett explained. “It’s most likely to affect those who feel defined by their decisions often those further up the chain of command – in accepting change they’ll need to accept that what was happening previously, on their watch as it were, was not as good.” Within healthcare, this may mean we have to accept we’ve been hurting people, even killing people for years – often this can be too hard to bear.” WHAAAT!? We can't change because then people will get upset that others will think that things were bad before. That is the lamest, worst possible excuse to resist change that I have ever heard. If people really worked like this, we'd still be waving rattling sticks over sick people and asking the spirits for help. FFS.
seems like such a simple and good idea, why would anyone be against it?
If I ever have to go in for surgery (hopefully never again), maybe I can get a cap that says "Patient".
Also, color code those caps according to profession/speciality and you have the perfect team set-up. Especially importans in emergency surgery.
This would have made a huge difference to my comfort level during my two c-sections. I didn't know who anyone was because I was so foggy after hours of labour that I couldn't have remembered even if they did introduce themselves - and I don't think all of them did.
Will this work for a Radiologist ? My wife is the single doctor in a big scan room with 1 patient at a time...
Interesting that many of the people pictured were anaesthetic specialists. Do they know something we don't, or are they just a friendlier and more progressive bunch?
I love it but keep the jargon- "ODP" and "Dr" and "Pediatric Nurse opthamologist" of the caps... Name and job only
I knew what this was for before reading. I've woken up from anesthesia twice & was so disoriented & afraid I tried to escape. Woke to a nurse with his hands down my gown once. He was checking my bandages but waking up to that was truly frightening. The other time I tried to run, body wasn't awake yet, fell flat on face.
I knew exactly what it was for before reading anything. I've woken from anesthesia twice & tried to escape because I was so afraid & didn't know where I was or why. I hurt myself the 1st time because my body wasn't as awake as my mind.
Roger . . . . . Philosopher. A lot of what the medical profession does is harmful. If you have a traumatic acute condition like a broken arm, see the doctor. If you want to build health and prevent disease, avoid the doctors.
KCN you are totally right it was an ingrown hair! And turns out she was a nurse practitioner with a phd who introduced herself as "doctor"
No Millie its not made up. She said I had hydradenitis which would require lifelong treatment. Google it and educate yourself. Dx was wrong
Awesome idea! We also had large badges to go under our picture ID's with RN, LPN, MA, MD, etc. so everyone could pick out what everyone's role was. But in the OR, everyone is in scrubs, so makes sense since you can't see badges. Less confusion and keeps everyone safer, especially during emergency situations.
Not during surgeries, usually just during consultations and check ups will they be wearing a tag. Operations have an entirely different wardrobe
Load More Replies...Why is the word 'Awkward' necessary in this title? Do you have any understanding of what that words means and it's irrelevance to the content of the article? Come on - you can do beter than this
I'm sorry, but if I woke up in surgery and saw Gavin Sullivan's face (like THAT), I'd freak the F out.
It's gotten to the point that your comments are funny to me... like it's obvious you're just trying to tick people off, there's no way you actually believe the things you type
Load More Replies...
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