Today, Richard Corder talked to the group about his experience in the hotel industry and how he now uses his experience to make hospitals better. I thought the slogan of one of the hotel groups was very interesting stating, “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” Now, the obvious thing is that we take care of patients. However, it is crucial that we serve the whole health care team without forgetting the center of the team: the patient.

One may argue that by making the patient the second priority, we actually improve patient care. If instead of focusing on the patient, we focused on each other, what would happen? What if we as healthcare professionals tried to make ourselves and the rest of our colleagues happy? Perhaps then we would work better together, be excited to work, and discover along the way the common mission we all share: better patient outcomes.

The first day of the conference has been very thought provoking. Many people shared insight into how the story of Lewis Blackman could have been different. What if the resident’s acted differently? What if the nurses were more transparent in their concerns? What if Lewis was put on a different floor in the hospital? The question I asked to myself, was “what if Lewis’ mom knew more?”

Lewis’ parents both sounded like they were brilliant people in their respective professions, but they were not medical professionals. They did not know what the hospital culture was, nor should they be expected to.

So what can we do?

EARLY EDUCATION. Why when we board a flight do we receive instructions over the intercom with visual demonstrations from the flight crew about what to do in case of an emergency, but when we are in a much more mistake prone environment, we do… Continue reading →