Reflection: two weeks after Marseille, Colorado conference

I imagine many of you are feeling what I am feeling- nostalgia for the alpine air and brisk breeze in clean Colorado as we sat with the door wide open in an old train station while we listened to quality and patient safety talks and engaged in team-building activities. The education we received has been applied first hand in my MedStar Quality Improvement project on diagnostic error. I recall the concepts of cognitive and pre-constructed bias that blur physician decisions; the Swiss cheese model and human factors engineering to improve the medical system; understanding context and effective communication to prevent and address error; care for the caregiver and mindfulness of surroundings.

I’m astounded how quickly I made close relationships with the faculty and other students, which goes to show teams can be built quickly and spontaneously. My roommates and I would commute via the gondola daily together and wait… Continue reading →