Marlot Kuiper

129 How standards work out in medical teams: On routine dynamics Figure 8: The aviation industry as an example for checklist use 5.2.1 One checklist, multiple understandings Plainsboro Teaching Hospital organises monthly sessions for all new employees, from radiologists to nurses, and from housekeeping employees to HR managers to surgeons. As a newly hired ‘research assistant’ I enter the spacious lecture room and find myself a seat. As I will not work with patients, I am only assigned to the ‘Quality and Safety module’ that is obligatory for all new employees, and exempted from the Fire Safety Training, medication prescription training, and Electronic Patient Record training that my neighbour – a neurosurgery resident – is going to later that day. The Quality and Safety module contains some basic information and instructions, like which number to dial in case of an emergency, but most emphasis is on the vision and mission of Plainsboro. A member of the hospitals’ management board lectures about Plainsboro’s strategy, in which ‘getting together’ is the cornerstone. The aim is to “collaborate with patients, GP’s, researchers, with each other”, he says. It is acknowledged though that translating a strategy with a “mission” into daily practice is a daunting task. The board member states: “Our mission is not a pixel on our website, but it is about real impact in daily practice. And that’s… that’s a real challenge.” Although it is stated that translating this mission into daily practice is quite a task, no attention at all is given to ‘how to actually do that’. The only thing that is further communicated to us as new employees is that 5