A Slippery Floor John Brice worked in a busy urgent care center. After a hectic afternoon of seeing an unusually large number of clients, John noticed a puddle of water on the floor. In the next room,...

A Slippery Floor

John Brice worked in a busy urgent care center. After a hectic afternoon of seeing an unusually large number of clients, John noticed a puddle of water on the floor. In the next room, two staff LPNs were relaxing over a cup of coffee. Both would have had to go past the puddle of water to get to the room. John walked into the room and said, “I notice there is a puddle of water in the hall. We can’t leave things like that because falls and injuries can result. I need to get to the patient in Room C, but would one of you please see that the water is cleaned up? It is important to maintain a safe environment.” Both got up to get a rag to mop up the spill. In this instance, John did not focus on the fact that the spill had been overlooked in favor of a coffee break, nor did he overlook the hazard because he did not have time to address it personally. He was courteous in his request and explained why it was important.