The Value of Risk Rounding

The practice of risk rounding serves as a routine contribution to a highly reliable organization, a culture of curiosity empowering all team members to speak up in real time, and provides insight into areas of uncertainty. Highly reliable organizations protect the time and the team member who disrupts the routine service delivery when a risk is identified. In a 16-week pilot study, staff nurses in a Manhattan cardiothoracic intensive care unit participated in risk rounding wherein the staff identified foreseeable risks in a neighboring patient room. The objective of the pilot study was to foster a culture of safety and improve preparedness for urgent or emergent clinical scenarios. The postsurvey demonstrated improvement in both objectives with potential secondary benefits such as improved patient experience scores and nursing-sensitive indicators.