Allison Kooijman & Robert Robson: A Restorative Justice Approach to Harm and Health Care

A mutual friend and long-standing patient safety champion suggested Ali and Rob should meet in the summer of 2019. Since discovering a shared passion for patient safety and overlapping values, they haven’t stopped talking and working together to promote relationship-centric change in health care.

Injured as a result of a cancer misdiagnosis, Allison speaks with firsthand experience about the harm, after harm, that results when responses to patient safety incidents are less than ideal. Allison is a former licensed practical nurse, co-chair or Patients for Patient Safety Canada, and a current MA student at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus.

Allison’s Twitter: @AllisonKooijma1

Previously Chief Patient Safety “character” in Winnipeg, Rob now explores the tangled intersection of complexity, resilience, and safety in healthcare (www.robrobson.ca). He tries to help patients navigate the health care system as they seek reasonable answers about their care. Rob is a specialist emergency physician who continues to practice, having worked in a community hospital and tertiary care emergency departments.