Critical Incidents

Hospitals & Medical Centers

Modern healthcare systems' dynamic and ever-evolving landscape offers immense rewards but presents significant challenges. With increasing patient volumes and case complexity, the daily stress experienced in the medical field is rising. It's evident from the data that effectively managing this stress can notably decrease the occurrence of clinical errors. Beyond the routine pressures, healthcare professionals, including nurses, physicians, and other staff, often encounter graphic and traumatic clinical situations. Almost every area within a healthcare system is potentially susceptible to a range of incidents, each posing its own set of challenges.

Below are Critical Incidents in a modern health system:

  • Line of duty death of a co-worker

  • Serious injury to a co-worker

  • Unexpected death of a co-worker

  • Unexpected death of a patient

  • Particularly gruesome incident

  • Dismemberment and/or significant loss of blood

  • Severely burned patient

  • Incidents involving death or serious injury/illness of a young child

  • Suicide of a co-worker or a patient

  • Murder/suicide

  • Assaults on self and/or other staff

  • Explicit threats of assault on staff

  • A patient dies as a result of going AMA

  • A patient dies as a result of clinical error

  • Catastrophic medical equipment failure

  • Working under threatening conditions, including WMD (e.g., biological, nuclear, incendiary, chemical, or explosive)

  • Prolonged or frequent exposure to death and dying

  • Incidents with extreme sensory stimuli (e.g., smell of blood)

  • Line of duty death such as police officer or firefighter

  • Knowing the patient or patient well known to staff

  • Identifying with the patient

  • A patient is similar in age/appearance to you or a loved one

  • Multiple fatalities within a short period of time

  • Prolonged resuscitation with a negative outcome

  • Dealing with hysterical and demanding family members

  • Any incident that has compromised or could comprise one or more person’s ability to function

Note: If you are unsure if you or an employee in your hospital or medical center has been exposed to a critical incident, you are encouraged to contact Dr. Brown for a telephone consultation. He will help you assess the incident to determine the appropriate response.