Staff training initiatives to improve patient safety and quality care at Duke include:

Creating and executing research studies empowers nurses to find answers to the problems their patients face every day. Nurses at Duke Raleigh Hospital’s Pain Clinic participated in a simplified process of conducting a research study and realized that they could use this knowledge to improve the quality and safety of their patients’ experiences at Duke.

Nursing and physician education trains nurses and physicians in specific best practices for patient care throughout their career at Duke. Periodic educational sessions are also provided when a care practice is updated or changed.

Patient-centered service training consists of customer service training for all incoming staff during orientation and each year thereafter. Specific programs include a customer service module during the "Managing at Duke University Hospital" course for hospital managers and the "Exceeding Expectations" service training for personnel and volunteers at Duke Raleigh Hospital.

Six Sigma is a scientific approach to problem-solving that uses analytical tools to assess and identify problems, defects, and breakdowns in processes, drawing on that information to redesign the system or process. Professional health care experts trained in this methodology use the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) process to improve systems and enhance the delivery of patient care.

Targeted education, simulation exercises, and “boot camp” for Duke’s  residents have proven to be useful tools in helping the residents acquire the knowledge and skills they need to be successful doctors.

Training nurses in the advanced knowledge of geriatric care helps nurses be better prepared to treat the abundance of elderly patients that seek care in the Duke Health System. Duke School of Nursing and Duke Nurses Improving Care to Health System Elders (NICHE) have teamed up to give nurses the tools they need to treat this specialized population. (Read more about NICHE)

Just Culture encourages discussion and reporting of errors and near misses without the fear of retribution. In 2009, 126 managers and supervisors from all of Duke University Health System’s entities were trained to use event analysis and the Just Culture Algorithm to investigate errors.

An evidence-based teamwork system was designed to optimize patient outcomes by improving health care professionals’ communication and teamwork skills. Introduced in 2006, TeamSTEPPS utilizes core principles of interdisciplinary teamwork and communication designed to reduce, trap, and mitigate human error and readily translate to the health care delivery system. The TeamSTEPPS program has been utilized across the hospital to support quality and process outcomes.