Inclusion as a Patient Safety Strategy: A Conversation With Colleen Becker, PhD, MSN, RN, CCRN-K

Inclusion within perioperative teams directly supports safer care and stronger infection prevention. In the fourth installment of an interview with Infection Control Today^® (ICT^®), Colleen Becker, PhD, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, notes that teams reflecting the communities they serve bring cultural insight that improves communication, trust, and patient outcomes.

Inclusive teams recognize factors that may otherwise be overlooked across the perioperative continuum, from preoperative preparation to discharge. When staff feel valued and heard, they contribute more fully to patient safety. Inclusion is not only a workforce value but a practical strategy for reducing risk and improving care quality.

ICT: How does fostering inclusion within the surgical team contribute to safer practices and better adherence?

Colleen Becker, PhD, MSN, RN, CCRN-K: We in health care now have the opportunity to provide care to so many populations and communities that it's really a blessing. And when you have that opportunity in your life to provide care to folks who may be different from you, whether in clinical or cultural preparation, having a team that resembles the patients and communities we serve best helps both the patient and the team.

When our team reflects the communities we serve, patients bring knowledge that we may not find in textbooks or education. That inclusivity makes patients feel safer because we can speak their language and see them during their time of care. It also makes team members feel valued because they bring knowledge and insight that help keep patients safe.

We are now starting to see the patient as a whole person across their continuum of care and how we can best help them. There are things we may not consider if we don't have that inclusivity on our team. There are things we may not consider when they come in, from a preoperative perspective all the way through intra-op to post-op, as we prepare them for their return home or wherever they're going.

So it's absolutely critical that we are as inclusive as we can possibly be. It also helps people feel heard, that we are able to hear what they're saying and that they're offering their insight and guidance to us.

ICT: Basically, learning their language, speaking their language, understanding their language, absolutely, making sure that just because they're different from you are. It doesn't mean that you're less than.

Becker: Not at all. And as team members, it's respecting their ideas, their values, their thoughts. It's allowing them to be heard, and it's respecting them as another person. Again, we come from different backgrounds, but we all bring a wealth of knowledge to that care setting.

(The transcript has been edited for clarity and length.)