Physicians and nurses learn their practices in different schools. Their schedules are different, and sometimes, it seems their priorities are also different. It can be hard to get along. But they truly have one common goal in mind: great patient care.

Patient falls are one of the most common adverse events in a hospital setting, making them an easy target for indifference after a while. But when staff at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, a 325-bed hospital in Laguna Hills, CA, noticed a spike in its patient fall rate during...