Photo by Kristin Ellis ‘‘Room of Risk” (above), a patient room set up with many ‘‘errors” or unsafe items to stress the need for safety and diligence in patient care, was one of the activities organize this week by Walter Reed’s Patient Safety Office in observance of National Patient Safety Awareness Week.

‘‘A key component of being responsible for one’s own health is to be educated about a diagnosis and treatment plans,” said Terri Sharp Walter Reed’s patient safety manager. ‘‘This is the primary objective of the ‘Speak Up’ program sponsored by The Joint Commission.

Walter Reed staff has been wearing ‘‘Ask Me” pins throughout the week to encourage patients to ask questions of their providers, Sharp said.

‘‘We want to make sure our patients understand what we are telling them about their health and about any treatment plans or tests that they are undergoing,” Sharp added. ‘‘This allows our patients to become active, involved and informed members of their health-care team.”

Sharp offered some of the questions a patient may want to ask their provider before surgery:

• “Exactly what will you be doing?”
  
• “About how long will it take?”
  
• “What will happen after the surgery?”
  
• “How can I expect to feel during recovery?”

Patients also need to provide the doctor or pharmacist with a list of current medications, including non-prescription medicines, Sharp said. ‘‘Patients need to make sure the medicine they are taking is the medicine the doctor ordered, and that they are taking it correctly.

‘‘Remember, speak up if you have questions or concerns, and if you do not understand, ask again,” she added. ‘‘It is your body and you have a right to know.”

As part of the events this week, the WRAMC staff participated in a ‘‘Room of Risks.” A simulated patient room was set up with many ‘‘errors” or unsafe items, such as the wrong arm band on the patient and no call light provided for the patient in the bed. The ‘‘patient” was a mannequin and the room was set up to simulate an actual hospital room. The staff participated in the game, and the staff member with the most findings will win a prize to be awarded at the Patient Safety Program event in Joel Auditorium today from 2 to 3 p.m. The Operating Room staff will be putting on a skit about wrong site surgery and the importance of teamwork in the OR setting.