“Our team took the Belong @KP training together in summer 2021. We talked about what we learned at our huddles. The effect was subtle but not immediate. It helped us build a team mentality and see the diversity of roles in our department. It helped us realize, no matter what comes at us, we can get through this together. As an urgent care department, our time is ‘lumpy.’ That is, sometimes things are busy, and sometimes they are slow. I’ve encouraged other teams to use time during the workday to find a few minutes here and there to take the training. The modules are engaging and easy to listen to. It helped us be less judgmental about how patients communicate. For example, a man with autism came in with his mother. He told us, ‘I appreciated how you talked to me as an individual,’ because he was so used to caregivers talking to his mom instead of directly to him. In Colorado, we are working on our unit-based teams, and we’ve used this project as an example of what works.”
Anthony Cappa, MD, Urgent Care , (Colorado)