I think big and dream bigger but have been told many times in my life to stop doing so. My grade 10 careers advisor told me to aim lower when I expressed an interest in studying medicine, a male physician once told me that training a woman was like training half a doctor and I’ve even had a family member tell me that women joining the workforce are responsible for the downfall of modern society. Despite this, I’m now in medical school and will one day soon achieve my dream of becoming a doctor.

Over the last few days I’ve been given the skills and knowledge to undertake projects that improve outcomes for all patients; I’ve been empowered to make a change. Unfortunately these things take time, you need to carefully plan, analyse, monitor and assess. You need a specific problem to tailor your specific, well researched solutions and I… Continue reading →

Another jam-packed day and with each new session I was again left thinking ‘why aren’t they teaching me this in medical school?’

Knowledge of safety in healthcare is a graduate attribute required by the AMC but seems to be overlooked in many medical school curricula. Institutions looking to satisfy a requirement might squeeze something in, but great educators and institutions looking to emulate best practice will shift focus and make room for the important stuff, and if patient safety isn’t the important stuff then I’m joining the wrong profession.

It is clear that myriad factors determine the safety outcomes of patients in our hospitals and so many of these factors are under our direct control but too often the individuals involved are lacking the skills and knowledge required to mitigate the risk and keep patients safe.

The hubris of some in the profession has lead to a culture where speaking… Continue reading →