A Problem in Radiology
Shirley Givens, the head radiology tech, was about to pull out her hair. For the second time in as many months a patient had fallen while in the Radiology Department. Shirley had repeatedly told Ginny Watkins, the tech who checked in patients, that it was essential that all patients be screened for fall risk and that those determined to be a high fall risk were to be given a yellow sticker. Ginny had been given a straightforward checklist with questions to ask to identify high risk patients. It seemed no matter how many times she reminded Ginny to complete this Assessment, Ginny ignored her. Shirley had had it and decided, next time this happened, she would contact HR and put a disciplinary letter in Ginny’s file.
Ginny felt terrible when she heard that the elderly patient, she checked in had fallen. She knew doing a fall assessment was important, but there just didn’t seem to be time. The walls in the staff room were covered in KPIs that nagged her about “turn-around times.” And once a month, the department got an updated report, along with a reminder that quick turn-around times mean better patient care. Sometimes, she felt, she had to cut corners in order to keep those turn- around times low.
Assignment
After reading about the situation in the Radiology Department, please explain the events in light of Senge’s eroding goals archetype. Try to walk through the archetype (pictured below). How could that archetype be used to explain the events that continue to occur in the radiology department? What is the stated goal in the organization and how does the system support or hinder that goal? Where is the “leverage” in the system, that is what should change to support staff’s efforts in meeting the goal? How might thinking about this problem in terms of archetype help address the conflict between Shirley and Ginny?
