A California federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against a new state law that would prohibit employers from requiring workers to sign a mandatory arbitration provision as a condition of employment. 

A thought-provoking book about alternative dispute resolution was recently made available for download online. 

On Friday, the Supreme Court of Texas overruled its 2004 decision in In re Wood on the issue of arbitrability.

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has granted a cable company’s motion to compel individual arbitration in a privacy case.

by Holly Hayes Healthcare Executive, a publication of the AmericanCollege of HealthcareExecutives (ACHE), May/June 2012 issue published an article titled “The Importance of Failing Forward” by Paul B. Hofmann. The title refers to the book Failing Forward (2000) by John Maxwell which asks, what will you do when problems occur, will you fail forward or backward? To explain the fail forward concept, Dr. Hofmann refers to a study of physicians who participated in a simulated medical emergency where they had to choose from uncertain treatment options requiring trial and error. The doctors who paid more attention to their mistakes fared better in the simulation than those who focused on their successes. The study take away? Doctors who learned from their mistakes were better performers over time. Dr. Hofmann lists possible reasons for familiar mistakes in the healthcare environment, including: insufficient or inaccurate information, lack of expert input, time constraints, ignorance of legitimate alternatives, carelessness, political pressure, a conflict of interest, undue haste or a failure to follow established policy and/or external requirements. Many people will simply practice avoidance of these problems or situations rather than recognize them and learn from them. One model organizations might consider when building a culture who learns to ‘fail forward’ has been taught in a one-week immersion course by Leonard Marcus, who directs the program for Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at Harvard (see more here and here): A Four-step Approach to Problem-solving Step one: self interests. each participant in the course articulates his or her view of key problems, issues, and options. They are encouraged to actively listen, question, and interact with one another. Step two: enlarged interests. The participants reframe their understanding of current problems and possible options with a wider perspective, based on the integrative listening and confidence-building that occurred in step one. Step three: enlightened interests. The group is ready to engage in innovative thinking and problem-solving, generating ideas and perspectives that had not previously been considered. Step four: aligned interests. Participants build common ground perspectives, priorities, action items, agreement, or plans for moving forward. Depending on the scope of the intended objectives, at this point they recognize the tangible contributions and opportunities accomplished through the meeting. Healthcare professionals at all levels will make mistakes. As Dr. Hofmann points out, Maxwell suggests “people who fail backward blame others, repeat the same mistakes and expect never to fail again. In contrast, he describes people who fail forward as those who take responsibility, learn from each mistake and know failure is part of progress.” Holly Hayes is a mediator at Karl Bayer, Dispute Resolution Expert where she focuses on mediation of health care disputes. Holly holds a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a Masters in Health Administration from Duke University. She can be reached at holly@karlbayer.com.  

by Holly Hayes We often receive questions about where to find healthcare mediation training courses. Here is one series of training sessions titled Conflict Engagement for Healthcare Professionals: A Professional Certificate Program that may be of interest. The program is a collaborative project of the Hamline University School of Law’s Dispute Resolution and Health Law Institutes and EHCCO – Emerging HealthCare Communities. Upcoming sessions are: September 20-23, 2012 and November 1-4, 2012 in Minneapolis, MN. The program learning objectives are: Develop a strategic approach to conflict management in healthcare organizations as a means of improving patient safety, creating healthy work environments, promoting accountable care and containing costs Identify frames for engagement, models for understanding conflict dynamics, and strategies for preventing escalation and mitigating the impact of conflict within the healthcare organization Integrate conflict competencies with established healthcare ethical principles and practices Utilize collaborative strategies as a key leverage point for shifting the underlying healthcare culture and creating accountable care Identify recurring patterns of high conflict behavior and adopt strategies for addressing these patterns and their impact on the organization Expand personal capacity for effectively engaging in conflict, building on existing competencies and professional values Demonstrate an enhanced ability to convene conversations to support effective conflict engagement among members of your healthcare community Apply conflict theory and strategies to the development of conflict competent leadership groups and healthcare organizations Identify the role of coaches, conflict specialists and a community of practice in supporting ongoing learning among healthcare professionals   A second training resource, titled: Center for American Nurses Conflict Engagement Portfolio, can be found here . The content of this program was developed by EHCCO. A description of the course, from their website, states: This training program is designed for healthcare professionals who seek additional skills in assessing conflict situations, initiating difficult conversations, responding to strong emotions, and expanding options for effective resolution of disputes within the context of the health care setting. For those who already possess basic conflict engagement skills or training, this program will serve as a refresher course and will further develop existing skills through coached practice. We welcome your comments on effective training you have received in healthcare mediation, conflict resolution or conflict engagement. Holly Hayes is a mediator at Karl Bayer, Dispute Resolution Expert where she focuses on mediation of health care disputes. Holly holds a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a Masters in Health Administration from Duke University. She can be reached at holly@karlbayer.com.