Flatten the Hierarchy, but Blame the Intern?
Wow what a great 3 days the Marseille Experience has been thus far. My eyes have been opened to the small, innocent miscommunications that can ultimately lead to patient and caregiver harm. Whether it is the missed after hours critical lab value or the anchoring bias causing us to miss diagnose Angina for GERD, no one is invincible to the patient safety events we have been discussing this week.
However, with all of the amazing lessons learned and the strategies to improve communication, I can’t help but feel defensive after each case and video we discuss. Maybe it’s because 90% of the patient safety events are surgical or procedural and I am one of the only surgeons in the room? Maybe it’s because not too long ago I was the intern having to work up abdominal pain in a post-op patient? I feel emotionally exhausted every day because of the… Continue reading
Pre-Marseille Experience Post: Research Fellowship Focused on Patient Safety & Quality Improvement
High quality healthcare is patient-centered medicine, excellent outcomes, and preventing unnecessary risk or harm to our patients delivered in a cost-effective way. I am doing a two-year research fellowship during my General Surgery training, and am focusing my studies on quality improvement and patient safety. I am passionate about improving outcomes, identifying patients at high risk for complications, and ensuring the patient experience at my institution is one that prioritizes the patient as an individual and their unique medical experience. I chose to attend the Marseille Experience so I can learn the tools to identify areas of improvement and strategies to create sustainable change in my hospital.
Patient safety is integral to good patient care because we cannot provide excellent medical treatment without first protecting the patient’s basic needs. If we are not treating every step of the patient’s medical journey from the parking lot to the operating room to… Continue reading