Using Storytelling Techniques and Case Studies Can Help Engage Staff in Problem Solving

​Communicating information in healthcare by telling stories—rather than by simply providing data and instructions—can help "make our information meaningful, motivational, memorable, and impactful," according to Dana Siegal, RN, CPHRM, CPPS, director of patient safety for CRICO strategies, a division of The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions. She made her remarks at the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management annual conference in Seattle, Washington, on October 16, 2017. Too often, risk managers focus on conveying data-based information to staff as a means of changing behavior; however, according to Siegal, this type of education fails to resonate with staff in the way that turning it into a story can. "We need to turn those numbers into something people can walk away with, remember, and be motivated to do something different," said Siegal. She continued, "We need to move to a place where we have them remember the impact of those facts and figures. What better data do we have than the times where it didn't go right?"