Creating a safety culture through the application of reliability science.

The discussion of patient safety in delivering healthcare services is an important topic given the current state of the healthcare system. The current organizational cultures of many healthcare organizations do not support a culture of patient safety and do not employ a specific framework in delivering safe, reliable patient care. This article discusses the principles of reliability science and the use of these principles in creating a culture of patient safety. Recommendations are made for nursing involvement in creating a change in healthcare organization culture, and implementation steps are presented for nurse managers who are interested in applying the principles of reliability science to create a culture of patient safety on their units.