"If I see the light bulb go on for just one clinician, who will then avoid an error that might have harmed a patient - that makes all the difference for me. It's what I like best about my work," says Deborah Nadzam, whose early interest in a systems approach to quality has shaped her career. Dr. Nadzam, a Fellow in the prestigious American Academy of Nursing, is uniquely suited to lead JCR's patient safety consulting team.
Her initial experience as a nurse opened her eyes to the complexity of patient care, and the need to be observant and mindful. Her approach to working with healthcare clients today mirrors her training with patients: listening to their needs and concerns, and involving them in solutions.
During her many years at the Cleveland Clinic, she established ongoing processes that measured quality across the health system hospitals and established a system wide patient safety committee. To further raise awareness and focus on safety, she launched annual patient safety conferences where staff from across the health system heard from leaders in the field of patient safety and shared their safety-related projects with each other
Today, Debbie is excited about her role as a hands-on, collaborative consultant. "I enjoy and respect my colleagues immensely-they are all focused on what's right for the patient. Their level of commitment is invigorating." Like many other JCR consultants, she has also worked at the Joint Commission in the past. "My JCR colleagues have a solid understanding of accreditation standards and we hold each other to a high level of integrity and respect, both with each other and our clients." Click here for a full bio of Deborah Nadzam.