Although ransomware is not a new phenomenon, a recent increase in reported attacks, along with several well-publicized cases, have raised the public's awareness of the threat it poses. Ransomware can be incredibly damaging because it is designed to infect a system, find and encrypt the system's data, and lock out users until they pay a ransom—typically in an anonymous electronic currency like bitcoin—to regain access through a decryption key.

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The first step to moving toward a just culture to improve patient safety in clinical learning environments is undertaking a culture assessment to determine your organization's current culture. Once it has been completed, your organization's leadership has the daunting task of looking at what the findings tell them, including what the staff perceives as the organization's problem areas. In many cases, their perceptions are on target, but staff members are also fairly accurate in their assessment of the organization’s strengths. Once leadership has taken a look at what the staff has told them, it is up to the administrative team to work with department managers and staff to plan the change process.