Patient Safety & Risk Specialist

The Patient Safety and Risk Specialist will support the Sr. Manager of Patient Safety and Risk at BWH/BWFH to oversee and manage hospital-wide patient safety and risk initiatives and daily work at BWH and BWFH. The Patient Safety and Risk Specialist will be responsible for keeping the institution current with Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals, identifying emerging trends in Patient Safety, and managing improvement teams related to patient safety initiatives. Other patient safety activities will be focused on conducting Failure Mode Effects Analyses and event cause analysis. Extensive, daily interaction with other Directors, Managers, hospital leadership, and staff in the Department of Quality and Safety is a key component of this role. The Patient Safety and Risk specialist must also be able to coordinate projects and improvement activities across multiple academic and operational departments independently and mentor other patient safety staff members.

1. Responsible for the day-to-day coordination of adverse event management:
   • Receives and reviews computerized adverse event reports and telephone reports of adverse events.
   • Reviews all adverse event reports to ensure timely and appropriate analysis and follow up
   • Identifies sentinel events, coordinates and conducts sentinel event analyses
   • Works closely with the Patient/Family Relations department on risk and patient safety issues.
   • Refers cases as directed to the CRICO for monitoring, investigation or defense.
   • Manages reporting of appropriate adverse events to regulatory agencies, including DPH and BRM
   • QPS division and coordinates unannounced hospital surveys by DPH.
   • Identification and development of information related to equipment failures to ensure compliance with the reporting requirements of the Safe Medical Devices Act.
   • Reviews and evaluates aggregate adverse events and claims data, as well as other hospital information in order to identify high-risk activities, procedures and departments.
   • Recommends corrective and preventive actions to reduce risk. Collaborates with CRICO and hospital-based improvement teams on interventions.
   • Continually evaluates hospital adverse event reporting system for potential improvement.
2. Identifies, recommends and independently manages innovative patient safety initiatives:
   • Assists in review and development of hospital policies.
   • Participates in hospital patient safety initiatives and activities.
   • Independently directs improvement activities related to safety and quality vulnerabilities, the Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals and develops innovative methods to monitor improvement.
   • Independently Performs as the content expert on improvement methodologies including Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA) and imparts knowledge of improvement process to various safety projects. Assists hospital leaders in identifying barriers to implementing improvement plans and developing strategies to overcome these barriers. Recommends outcome measurement strategies and communication plans to hospital leadership.
   • Develops the analytic and measurement strategy for all projects undertaken including development of key metrics, identification of data sources and collection of baseline data.
   • Independently works to transfer current BWH and BWFH patient safety concepts and initiatives throughout BWH/BWFH such as creation of culture change, increased reporting of adverse events and near misses, and increased transparency.
   • Provides staff education to nurses, physicians and committees regarding patient safety, non-punitive reporting, and error prevention.
   • Works with the Sr. Manager patient safety and risk at BWH/BWFH and clinical leaders to prepare regular presentations to the Board Quality Committee, Care Improvement Council, Quality Assurance/Risk Committee, and other BWH/BWPO leadership and clinical groups, as needed.
   • Performs other duties as requested
3. Mentoring/Training:
   • Participates in the orientation, training, and mentoring of department of quality and safety (DQS) team members.
   • Participates in presenting the DQS department overview for site visits and other inter- departmental training sessions.
   • Participates in precepting of pharmacy students, medicine students and medicine residents and DQS fellows.

About Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, an affiliate of Mass General Brigham, is committed to supporting patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. We place great value on being a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization as we aim to reflect the diversity of the patients we serve. At Mass General Brigham, we believe in equal access to quality care, employment and advancement opportunities encompassing the full spectrum of human diversity: race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all the other forms of human presence and expression that make us better able to provide innovative and cutting-edge healthcare and research.

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital is a 171- bed non-profit, community teaching hospital located in Jamaica Plain directly across the street from the Arnold Arboretum. Founded in 1900, Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital offers comprehensive care in a wide variety of specialties. Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital is a designated Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a recognition that fewer than nine percent of all US hospitals receive.

At Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, we believe that everyone should have the chance to live a healthy life. From creating breakthroughs that have paved the way for treatments around the globe to training the next generation of providers, our patients, and those we may never meet, are at the center of everything we do. If you're looking for more than a career, join Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital. Our patients call it better care. Our employees call it home.

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Degree in Nursing, Pharmacy, or similar/related clinical field is highly preferred.
• Prior experience working as a program manager or equivalent experience in quality measurement and/or improvement, patient safety or risk management highly preferred
• Experience working in a large and complex health care organization, or relevant clinical work experience preferred
• Computer and Internet skills and experience required: familiarity and comfort with MS Office products is essential for success in this position (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access)
• Superior organizational skills and the ability to multitask
• Initiative and ability to work independently with minimal supervision while thriving in a setting requiring collaboration and teamwork for maximal efficiency and effectiveness
• Sophisticated listening and negotiation skills with demonstrable experience in operating effectively in a complex environment
• Creativity and enthusiasm for developing and implementing new programs
• Demonstrated effectiveness as both a team member and team facilitator; high degree of social facility in obtaining cooperation and support for a broad range of people. May facilitate medium to large groups.
• High degree of professionalism, discretion, respect and confidentiality
• Data management and analysis skills
• Ability to complete work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines
• Comfortable interacting with a vast array of administrative and clinical staff, ranging from the Chief Medical Officer and department Chairs, to frontline care providers

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital is an Affirmative Action Employer. By embracing diverse skills, perspectives and ideas, we choose to lead. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, military service, genetic information, and/or other status protected under law. We will ensure that all individuals with a disability are provided a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.