The first day of the Marseille Experience provided me with great insight into the impact that medical errors can have on individuals. Errors become personal, and the impact that they can have on an individual can be relatively benign to catastrophic. I considered the importance of competent care, and the importance of personality traits to preventing medical errors. I relate medical errors to a lack of situational awareness, and how we as scientists struggle with confirmation bias. Furthermore, I have learned about the importance of strong communication skills, and the importance of accuracy with information, as well as being able to question certain ideas for the safety of the patient. At the end of the day, patient safety is not just an algorithm that is focused on eliminating errors, but character traits that embody the modern Hippocratic Oath as well as beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice.

Day 2 was full of information on patient engagement as well as family engagement. The case with the OR fire was interesting to consider, as it places greater importance on the cause of the fire as well as future fire prevention. In many ways, it seems like medicine struggles with open and honest communication, which can hinder the trust of patient populations and their families with healthcare organizations and providers. I think that the concept of CANDOR is a great approach to patient safety, as it places importance on honest communication that results in optimal resolution. Furthermore, I found the games from the past two days to be helpful in gauging leadership skills. The teeter totter game was fun and engaging in strategy and communication skills. I also enjoyed the puzzle game as well, because it stressed the importance of autonomous leadership. Finally, I was very moved by importance of… Continue reading →

Hello, my name is Aditya Bhagirath, and I just completed my first year of medical school. I chose to attend the Marseille Summer Experience because it provides a great learning opportunity to increase awareness on patient safety as well as an opportunity to potentially impact the lives of individuals in the future. I seek to understand more about the issues in patient safety and developing methods to implement and increase the quality of patient care.

Patient safety is particularly important to me because of my previous volunteer experiences in inpatient and outpatient clinical settings, as well as my future role as physician. As a medical student, I want to better understand what my role as a future physician will be, and what role I can play to increase quality care. I have interacted with many medical professionals whom all play a critical role in the clinical setting but seek to… Continue reading →